Al-Hilal Faces Al-Taawoun: Breaking the Curse of Consecutive Defeats

Al-Hilal walk into Buraidah on Saturday carrying more than just league-leading form. They carry a superstition too – a “curse” that has stalked them only once in the last five years, but lingers loudly enough to unsettle even a club of their stature.

The Saudi Roshn League leaders head to face Al-Taawoun in the seventh round, days after their first stumble of the season: a two-goal defeat to Neom on Monday in the sixth round. One loss is a jolt. Two in a row, for Al-Hilal, is something closer to an omen.

The shadow of back-to-back defeats

Inside the club, the fear is simple and sharply defined: do not repeat what happened the last time they lost consecutive league games.

That sequence belongs to December 2021. First came a 2-0 defeat to fierce rivals Al-Nassr, a result that cut deeper than the scoreline alone. Then, before the wounds had healed, Al-Fateh arrived and twisted the knife with a 3-2 win in the very next round.

Two straight league defeats. For “The Boss”, it felt like a rupture in their domestic aura.

Since that bruising fortnight, Al-Hilal have treated every league defeat as an immediate alarm bell. They have not allowed another to follow. Whenever they have fallen in the Saudi Roshn League, the next outing has produced at least a draw, never another loss. The slide stops at one.

That is the streak on the line in Buraidah.

Leaders with something to prove

On paper, Al-Hilal travel as the team to beat. They sit top of the Saudi Roshn League table on 15 points, edging Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah only on goal difference, with both rivals tucked just behind in second and third.

The margins are thin. One more misstep, and the cushion disappears.

So the trip to Al-Taawoun becomes more than a routine away fixture. It is a test of nerve after the first punch of the campaign, a check on whether this version of Al-Hilal still reacts like the heavyweight it claims to be.

Lose again, and that long-avoided curse returns to the conversation. Stand firm, and the Neom defeat becomes a mere blemish on an otherwise commanding start.