Italian coach Simone Inzaghi has made a tactical decision to exclude the trio of Caio Cesar, Matteo Batui, and Youssef Akcicik from the Al-Hilal squad that will face Al-Ettifaq on Saturday evening, as part of the fifth round of the Roshan Saudi League.

A special source clarified that Inzaghi preferred to rest the three players for tactical reasons related to his strategic choices, emphasizing that the starting lineup will feature a strong presence of distinguished foreign players in various positions.

The list also notably excluded the name of captain Salem Al-Dosari, who was recently awarded the title of Asian Player of the Year for 2025, due to an injury he sustained while participating with the Saudi national team against Iraq in the Asian playoff qualifying for the World Cup.

The Al-Hilal delegation arrived in Dammam on Friday evening with a strong focus from the coaching staff and players, as the squad included a constellation of foreign stars led by Moroccan Yassine Bounou, Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly, and French Theo Hernandez.

The lineup also includes Portuguese Ruben Neves, Serbian Sergej Milinković-Savić, Brazilians Malcolm Felipe and Marcos Leonardo, along with Uruguayan Darwin Núñez, who are expected to play a crucial role in the match against Al-Ettifaq.

Al-Hilal currently sits in eighth place in the Roshan Saudi League standings with eight points, having achieved two victories against Al-Akhidood and Al-Riyadh, and drawn with Al-Ahli and Al-Qadisiyyah, and they aspire to secure a new victory to bring them closer to the top positions.