Al Hilal host Al Ahli on Tuesday night in the biggest game of the 2026/27 season so far. It's Riyadh versus Jeddah, four-time Asian champions versus the current continental kings and, fascinatingly, England striker versus England striker.
Watkins vs Toney in Riyadh
The game is likely to see Ollie Watkins plunged straight into Saudi Pro League action and presented with a chance to make himself an instant Al Hilal hero.
The England striker, 30, completed his £50 million move from Aston Villa on Sunday night in the highest-profile SPL transfer of the summer. The deal is a major coup for Hilal, who have captured a goalscorer proven at the highest level, and a player who could tilt the balance of power back in their favour both at home and in Asia.
“Proud to be blue. Proud to be Al Hilal,” Watkins said on the club's social media channels after signing a three-year deal.
Watkins, who started his career at Exeter City, has risen through the ranks of English football from the lower leagues all the way to the national team. He has scored 193 career goals, including 91 for Villa in the Premier League.
On the opposing side on Tuesday will be a familiar face, a rival, and a man whose success he will now attempt to replicate. Watkins has spent the last few seasons vying with Al Ahli's Ivan Toney to be understudy for England captain and first-choice striker Harry Kane.
It's hard to imagine that Toney's exploits at Ahli did not influence Watkins' decision to follow him to the kingdom. Toney has scored 59 goals in 65 games since his move from Brentford and is a double Asian champion. Another aspect of their shared history is that Toney was signed by the Bees in 2020 to replace Watkins after he had joined Villa.
Martinelli in, Benzema out at Hilal
Watkins is not the only big-money arrival at Hilal this summer. Crysencio Summerville is already making an impact following his £55m move from West Ham, while Gabriel Martinelli is also set to confirm a £60m switch from Arsenal to complete an all-new attacking trident.
That has seen France and Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema marginalised, and the 39-year-old has torn up his Hilal contract, leaving Riyadh as a free agent.
Benzema has been linked with a return to former club Al Ittihad, who he controversially left to join Hilal at the height of last season's title battle. The move prompted Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo to go on strike as he accused the league of showing favouritism to his club's local rivals.
Martinelli is said to be heart-broken at leaving Arsenal and had already snubbed a move to Galatasaray before agreeing a long-term deal with Hilal.
What to make of Al Ahli?
It has been a summer of upheaval at Al Ahli, who lost their two-time Asian champion coach Matthias Jaissle to Newcastle United. He has been replaced by Marino Pusic, the Dutch-Bosnian former coach of UAE side Al Jazira, in something of a surprise appointment.
Pusic has had to contend with changes on the pitch, notably the departures of key midfielder Franck Kessie, who left to join Serie A club Atalanta on a free transfer, and attacking talisman Riyad Mahrez, who has been linked with SPL side Al Shabab, Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda and the Turkish Super Lig.
Importantly, they were able to fend off interest from European sides to retain defensive rock Roger Ibanez, while former Shakhtar Donetsk manager Pusic raided the Eastern European market to recruit Ukrainian international Artem Bondarenko from his former club and Armenian attacking midfielder Eduard Spertsyan from Krasnodar.
It was all going well until a shock 3-1 defeat at Al Kholood on Saturday. It is early days for Pusic, but another setback at Hilal on Tuesday night would undoubtedly dampen the mood in these early stages of Ahli's 2026/27 reboot.
“In short, I don't think we deserved to lose,” Pusic said after Saturday's defeat. “We are certainly very disappointed, but this match revealed some mistakes to us and showed me many things that we will work to address in the future.
Pusic, who was roundly criticised for his decision to omit Galeno from the starting line-up, added: “I know our fans feel the bitterness of the result, and I appreciate their presence and their continued support.”
