Tables turned at Clasico rivals - so who steps into spotlight in marquee clash? | OneFootball

Back before a ball was kicked in the 2025-26 Roshn Saudi League, when the fixtures for the new season were announced, many would’ve looked to the first Saudi Clasico as offering a barometer of how a new manager was faring at a genuine top-flight giant.

Few, though, would’ve expected that to apply more acutely at Al Ittihad, the reigning champions, than Al Hilal.

By the time the much-anticipated Matchweek 6 encounter ticks around on Friday in Jeddah, Sergio Conceicao will be experiencing not only his first Clasico, but his second RSL game.

The Portuguese tactician replaced Laurent Blanc during this month’s international break just passed, Al Ittihad having called time on their title-winning manager immediately after the club’s home defeat to championship rivals Al Nassr in Matchweek 4.

So, while last Friday’s trip to Al Fayha provided Conceicao a gentler introduction to Saudi Arabian football – still, his side were held to a draw – assignment No.2 represents an altogether different challenge.

There is reason the Clasico is considered one of the marquee matches in the Kingdom. Or, indeed, on the continent as a whole.

More recently, Al Ittihad and Al Hilal have shared between them the past six RSL titles; this time around, the anticipation was that they'd once more vie for the crown, although amid an increasingly competitive RSL featuring more bona fide contenders in Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Qadsiah.

Yet, initially, there was more conjecture around Al Hilal. Simone Inzaghi was installed as manager at the onset of the summer and, though his impact was instant during an unforgettable FIFA Club World Cup, it remained to be seen how the Italian would fare upon his first foray in a league outside his homeland.

If Al Hilal’s RSL campaign took a while to get going – they won two and drew two of their opening four fixtures, albeit the draws came against Al Qadsiah and Al Ahli – the 2023-24 record-breakers have since apparently hit their stride.

In the past week, Al Hilal conjured a five-star showing at Al Ettifaq, then followed it up with Tuesday’s comprehensive victory at home to Al Sadd in the AFC Champions League Elite. It extended their run on the continent to three wins from three.

Again, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was immense. The Serbia international netted a sublime free-kick, but his all-round play stood out. A second Man of the Match award came only days after that first against Al Ettifaq.

And, worryingly for those with an Al Ittihad persuasion, Milinkovic-Savic clearly shines in the Clasico’s considerable glow.

Since joining the RSL in 2023, the former Lazio captain has registered more goal contributions against Al Ittihad than any other team, bar Al Nassr, who are level, with six. In nine appearances against Al Ittihad across all competitions, Milinkovic-Savic has one goal and five assists.

Meanwhile, teammate Malcom has enjoyed this match-up more than any other, too; the Brazilian has been directly involved in eight goals in 10 matches in all competitions against Al Ittihad (five goals, three assists).

Although Darwin Nunez and Marcos Leonardo headlined at Al Ettifaq courtesy of two goals apiece, Malcom and Milinkovic-Savic appear integral to Al Hilal's chances in what promises to be yet another Clasico cracker. They have been consistent thorns in Al Ittihad's side.

That kind of form isn’t exclusive, however, to the Riyadh half of the great divide. At Al Ittihad, as he has done throughout much of his illustrious career, Karim Benzema has proved a man for the grandest occasion.

He has five goals against Al Hilal - his joint-most against any one RSL opponent. In the past three meetings, as the top-tier pendulum swung from the capital to Jeddah, Benzema has found the net in the Clasico four times.

Last time around, in February’s pivotal 4-1 victory at Alinma Stadium, the Frenchman grabbed his team's fourth goal on a memorable night in the second city. Embroidering an already-emphatic scoreline, it was an exclamation mark on a result that snapped Al Ittihad’s seven-match winless streak against Al Hilal.

Going into Friday’s clash at the same venue, the hosts are hunting back-to-back successes against Al Hilal for the first time since 2016. Rather surprisingly, in the Saudi Pro League era, they have never recorded successive home wins against their Clasico competitors.

The atmosphere at Alinma Stadium always delivers in Al Ittihad v Al Hilal for the Clasico

Yet, in a head-to-head packed full of history, it’s the now that matters most. While, at the beginning of the season, Benzema declared Al Ittihad’s determination to retain the title, their 10 points from the opening five rounds constitutes the lowest RSL return by a defending champion in more than half a decade.

It is why Conceicao, not predecessor Blanc, will take his seat in the home dugout at a teeming Alinma Stadium in Matchweek 6's standout fixture. It is why the spotlight has shifted from Inzaghi’s first throes as Al Hilal manager and focused instead on his newest coaching counterpart in the Kingdom.

But, with Benzema back facing familiar-and-favourite foes, and that raucous support driving them on, Al Ittihad will have sights set on a Clasico triumph that can flip the narrative.

So, who will Friday's fallout focus on? Continue with Conceicao? Or will Inzaghi slip back into the glare?