Ollie Watkins listed for Al Hilal’s Al Ahli match, but final role remains unclear

Al Hilal head coach Simone Inzaghi has named Ollie Watkins in his squad for Tuesday’s Roshn Saudi League meeting with Al Ahli, while three players have been left out of the group for the fixture at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The match is scheduled to take place on Tuesday as part of the third round of the competition, with Al Hilal seeking to maintain their perfect start to the league campaign.

According to Saudi newspaper Al Riyadiya, the players omitted from Inzaghi’s squad are Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek, French midfielder Simon Bouabre and midfielder Abdullah Al-Anazi.

Akcicek will miss the match after suffering a minor knee knock. Bouabre has not been included because he is not yet ready to play, while Al-Anazi was left out of the squad after falling outside the coaching staff’s plans for this particular game.

Watkins, however, has been included in the travelling group. The England striker’s final status will be decided during a technical meeting led by Inzaghi before Al Hilal leave for the stadium.

That means Watkins’ involvement has yet to be confirmed, despite his presence in the squad. The decision on whether he will play will be made shortly before the team’s departure for Kingdom Arena.

Al Hilal go into the encounter second in the Roshn Saudi League table with nine points from three matches. They are three points behind leaders Al Nassr, although Al Hilal have a game in hand.

Al Ahli occupy seventh place with six points from their opening three league fixtures. They will be aiming to take a positive result from the match against Al Hilal and improve their position in the standings.

The fixture therefore brings together two sides with differing early-season objectives. Al Hilal are attempting to stay close to the top of the table while protecting their unbeaten start, whereas Al Ahli are looking to close the gap on the leading teams after collecting six points from their first three games.

The main selection decisions before kick-off will centre on the three players already ruled out and Watkins’ fitness and readiness. Akcicek’s knee problem has removed one option from Inzaghi’s plans, while Bouabre’s lack of match readiness and Al-Anazi’s exclusion have further reduced the available choices for the matchday squad.

The final decision on Watkins is expected before Al Hilal arrive at the stadium, with Inzaghi using the pre-match technical meeting to determine whether the forward is ready to take part against Al Ahli.