Al-Hilal Aim to Break Curse Against Al-Taawoun

Al-Hilal head to Buraidah on Saturday with more than three points on their minds. They are also trying to outrun a shadow from their own past.

The Saudi Roshn League leaders visit Al-Taawoun in the seventh round, still stung by their first defeat of the season – a 2-0 loss to Neom on Monday in the sixth round. One bad night can be dismissed. Two in a row starts to feel like a curse.

And that is exactly what Al-Hilal are desperate to avoid.

Chasing away an old curse

Inside the club, memories are being dragged up from five years ago, when the Riyadh giants last suffered back-to-back league defeats. The sequence began in a way that still irritates supporters: a 2-0 loss to neighbours and long-time rivals Al-Nassr.

The damage did not stop there. In the very next round, Al-Hilal slipped again, beaten 3-2 by Al-Fateh. Two straight league defeats, title momentum broken, and the sense that a powerhouse had briefly lost its grip.

Since that December 2021 stumble, the capital club have treated consecutive league losses as something close to forbidden. Whenever they have fallen, they have at least stood firm in the next outing, with the worst follow-up result being a draw. No repeat of that double blow. No extended hangover.

That record is now on the line in Buraidah.

Top of the table, under pressure

The stakes are clear. Al-Hilal sit on 15 points at the summit of the Saudi Roshn League, ahead of Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah only on goal difference, with their rivals occupying second and third place respectively.

Drop points again, and that fragile advantage could vanish in a single weekend.

Al-Taawoun, on their own ground, will sense the timing is perfect. Al-Hilal arrive wounded, their aura of early-season invincibility cracked by Neom. The leaders arrive knowing that another slip does not just reopen the title race. It revives a curse they thought they had buried years ago.

Do Al-Hilal respond like champions in Buraidah, or does the league’s top side suddenly look very human?