Led by Al-Hilal's magician: five talents worth watching in the tenth round of the Roshn Saudi Elite League

Young stars shine in the sky of the Saudi under-21 league

Saudi football fans are in for a treat in the tenth round of the Joy Elite League, the Saudi Under-21 League, with a host of outstanding talents on show.

Expect some heavyweight clashes. Chief among them is the Riyadh derby between Al-Nassr and Al-Riyadh, while the pick of the round pits Al-Ahli against Al-Ettifaq.

Talk about the capital derby's top scorer and all eyes turn to Abdulrahman Al-Anazi. The Al-Nassr striker has been the standout this season, finding the net five times so far.

Yet another man in this derby has matched that tally. Battal Al-Harthi, the Al-Riyadh striker, has also bagged five goals and impressed throughout his campaign in the Roshn Saudi Pro League.

Al-Harthi has drawn a blank in the last two rounds, though, failing to score in the 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej and then the 1-0 victory over Al-Hazm.

That barren spell might sting the young forward, but it should only sharpen his hunger to rediscover his scoring touch. What better stage to do it than against opponents as strong as Al-Nassr, in the Saudi capital derby.

Turning to Al-Ittihad, no name comes up before Ammar Al-Ghamdi. He sits fourth on the Roshn Saudi Pro League scoring charts this season with 7 goals.

The Jeddah side boast another player blessed with a scorer's instinct, though. Nawaf Al-Jadaani has struck twice so far this term.

True, Al-Jadaani failed to score in the last derby against Al-Ahli. Yet his clever movement caused all sorts of problems before he fluffed a one-on-one that would have capped his display.

Al-Jadaani will look to atone for that glaring miss against Al-Ansar, especially with the opponents rooted to the bottom of the table and having shipped 14 goals in 7 matches.

Al-Qadsiah slipped to a surprise 3-2 defeat against Al-Najma last time out, but they unearthed a new striker who is fast making the role his own. Muhannad Al-Jizani scored both of the team's goals.

That brace took Al-Jizani to four goals in this season's Roshn Saudi League, making him Al-Qadsiah's top scorer ahead of stars Basel Abadi and Fahad Al-Shamri.

Only last season he was turning out for Al-Qadsiah's under-18 side. Standout displays and a sharp eye for goal earned him a swift promotion to the under-21 team.

Now the young forward will look to repay that faith when Al-Qadsiah travel to Al-Orobah. The hosts are struggling badly, rooted in 20th place with just 4 points.

Al-Hilal's return thrusts the names of several of the capital club's goalscorers into the spotlight, the likes of Louai Al-Obaidi and Turki Al-Ghamil. Yet this duo cannot shine without one man: the magician Ali Al-Mahdawi.

Al-Mahdawi has not found the net this season. He has, though, established himself as one of the finest providers of goals, not just at Al-Hilal but across the Saudi under-21 league.

Three assists in this season's Joy Elite League tell the story, the product of blistering pace and a right foot that excels at threading accurate passes to the team's scorers.

Having sat out the last round, Al-Mahdawi will look to sprinkle his magic once more when "Al-Zaeem" return to action against Damac.

Al-Ettifaq boast one of the finest assist-makers around in Abdulhakim Maghfouri, a gifted left-footer who has sprinkled his magic across this season's Joy Elite League.

One of Al-Ettifaq's standout signings this term, Maghfouri arrived last summer after lighting up Al-Taawoun's under-18 side.

Four goals created in this season's Saudi under-21 league, the latest against Al-Ansar in the last round, place him among the top providers so far.

Nor has he gone quiet in front of goal. Maghfouri has netted twice for Al-Ettifaq in this season's Joy Elite League, most recently against NEOM in the round before last.

Now the young man wants more. His next test is the pick of the tenth round, a clash with second-placed Al-Ahli.