Al-Hilal Aim to Avoid Double-Defeat Curse Against Al-Taawoun

Al-Hilal walk into Buraidah on Saturday with the table in their hands and a ghost at their back.

Top of the Saudi Roshn League on goal difference, “The Boss” arrive at Al-Taawoun still nursing the sting of their first loss of the season, a two-goal defeat to Neom on Monday in the sixth round. One bad night can be brushed off. Two in a row starts to feel like a story.

And in Riyadh, they know that story all too well.

A streak they refuse to revive

Inside the club, there is a clear fear of a “curse” that has not touched them for five years: back-to-back league defeats. The last time it happened, it left a mark.

December 2021. First, a 2-0 loss to fierce rivals Al-Nassr. Then, before the bruises had faded, a 3-2 defeat to Al-Fateh in the very next round. Two straight league losses, and a jolt to a club that measures itself in titles, not tumbles.

Since that double setback, Al-Hilal have treated a league defeat as a hard stop. Whenever they have fallen, the immediate response has been firm: at worst, a draw in the following match, never another loss. The sequence has become a point of pride, a quiet standard in the dressing room.

That is what is on the line in Buraidah.

Pressure on the leaders

The league table flatters no one. Al-Hilal sit on 15 points, level with Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah but ahead on goal difference. One slip, and that slim advantage evaporates. Another, and they could find themselves watching others set the pace.

Al-Taawoun, playing at home, do not need extra motivation. The leaders are wounded, the timing is perfect, and the memory of Al-Hilal’s last stumble into consecutive defeats will not be lost on any opponent.

For Al-Hilal, this is not just about three points. It is about identity. About refusing to let a rare off-night against Neom turn into a pattern that drags them back five years.

The curse is only a story if they let it become one.