Round six of the 2023 Saudi Pro League season sees Al-Raed entertain the challenge of Al-Nassr at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Saturday.
Al-Raed will be looking to make it back-to-back home wins for the first time this season when they lock horns against in-form Al-Nassr at the weekend.
The hosts were denied consecutive wins before heading into the international break as they played out a goalless draw by Al-Fayha at the King Salman Sport City Stadium earlier this month. Igor Jovicevic’s troops lacked sharpness in front of goal on the day and were unable to threaten the opposition defenders before settling for a point.
Prior to that, the Buraidah-based side were able to arrest their poor form, ending a string of three defeats as they pumped Al-Riyadh 3-0 thanks to a first-half double from Mohamed Fouzair, while Amir Sayoud found the back of the net in the 68th minute to cap off a fine team performance. They are two points above the relegation zone at 14th, but they are facing a difficult task against Al-Nassr.
After a stuttering start to the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season, last year’s runners-up have rebounded in spectacular fashion as they won their next three games in a row to finally kick-start their season.
The Knights of Najd first hammered Al Fateh 5-0 on matchday three and followed up with a 4-0 thrashing of Al-Shabab. Before heading into the international break, they crushed Al-Hazm in a 5-1 demolition job. With nine points in five games, the visitors are sixth in the standings and are the firm favourites to come away with all three points from this one.
Team News and Tactics
Al-Raed
📋 | #رائدنا ينهي تحضيراته الفنية للقاء النصر غداً السبت #yallaRaed pic.twitter.com/d86NzsIqcH
— نادي الرائد السعودي (@alraedclub) September 15, 2023
Al-Raed manager Igor Jovicevic has reported no fresh injury concerns and could stick to his mostly-used 4-4-2 setup featuring a two-man strike-force up top.
In defence, Oumar Gonzalez will continue to form the back four alongside Bander Whaeshi, Mohammed Al-Dossari, and Khalid Al-Sobeai, with former Atletico Madrid man Andre Moreira in goal.
Former Norwich City midfielder Mathias Normann will likely hold the fort in Al-Raed’s engine room, working in tandem with workhorse Mansour Al-Bishi to thwart Nassr’s dangerous midfield runners.
Al-Raed have largely struggled for goals, with only three strikes from five games. The club’s top scorer last season and so far this term, Mohammed Fouzair, missed the opening three games of the 2023 Saudi Pro League campaign.
He marked his return from injury with a man-of-the-match performance featuring a well-taken brace against Al-Riyadh but was unable to replicate his goal-scoring exploits against Al-Feyha, firing a blank.
El Berkaoui started alongside Amir Sayoud in the attack last time out but could be replaced by Julio Tavares, who will be looking to open his account for the season against Al-Nassr. Summer arrival Firas Al Ghamdi could be handed a starting berth here as well after spending the last game as an unused substitute.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Moreira; Al-Dossari, O. Gonzalez, Whaeshi, Al-Sobaie; Fouzair, Al-Bishi, Normann, Al-Ghamdi; Sayoud, Tavares
Al-Nassr
The visitors will be without the services of veteran goalkeeper David Ospina, who has been sidelined since January due to an injury. Otherwise, head coach Luis Castro has no fresh injury concerns for the trip to face Al-Raed and could deploy a full-strength side in his preferred 4-2-3-1 setup.
An unchanged central defensive pairing of Aymeric Laporte and Mohammed Al-Fatil is expected in front of backup goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi. Ghislain Konan hasn’t put a foot wrong and could continue at left-back ahead of former Manchester United and Sevilla defender Alex Telles, while ever-present Al-Ghannam will keep his spot on the opposite side of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, and Marcelo Brozovic have proven to be a rock-solid pairing in the double pivot and are unlikely to be dropped anytime soon by Castro.
Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has surged to the top of the table, with six goals coming in just a three-game winning streak for Al Nassr. Clearly, Ronaldo is thriving in a new-look Nassr attack where he no longer carries the goal-scoring burden in totality and is enjoying the release with better attackers around him.
The club-record summer signing from Porto, Otavio has fitted in the playing XI seamlessly in the creative No. 10 role alongside ever-improving teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb, serving as the supply chain for strike-duo Sadio Mane and Ronaldo. Anderson Talisca and Seko Fofana are other attacking midfield options available on the bench that Castro can call upon to impact the game later on.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Al-Aqidi; Al Ghannam, Al-Fatil, Laporte, Konan; Al Khaibari, Brozovic; Ghareeb, Otavio, Mane; Ronaldo
Key Stats
- Al-Nassr have been the more dominant side in this fixture over the years, losing only once in 35 games between the two sides (W29 D5).
- Al-Raed’s only victory over Al-Nassr came in April 2016, a narrow 2-1 win away from home in the Saudi Pro League.
- Al-Nassr have won their last three games with Al-Raed, scoring at least thrice.
- The Buraidah-based outfit have failed to win eight of their last nine matches across all competitions, losing five and claiming three draws since May.
- The visitors have won each of their last four matches in all competitions, including a 4-2 win over Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai in the playoffs of the AFC Champions League qualifiers on August 22.
Player to Watch
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has been integral to Al-Nassr’s turnaround after a faltering start to the season. The Portuguese forward, who missed the league opener at Al-Ettifaq through injury, has scored six goals in his last three games, vaulting to the top of the division’s scoring charts. Furthermore, he sits at the summit for assists, too, which speaks volumes about Ronaldo’s all-round contribution thus far.
The Al-Nassr captain swept home his side’s fourth goal in the 5-1 victory at Al-Hazem last time out. While the goal didn’t significantly impact the match by embroidering it, for Ronaldo, it signified a fresh mark hit. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner struck the 850th goal of an already illustrious career. This final phase Ronaldo, now 38 years old, is showing little sign of slowing down and will be looking to pick up where he left off prior to the international break.
Prediction
Al-Raed 1-3 Al-Nassr
If there was one club for whom the international break came at the wrong time, it would be Al-Raed. After kicking off the new league campaign on the wrong foot, things started to turn brighter as they collected four points from their last two matches. However, they now prepare for what is arguably their toughest home assignment so far against Cristiano Ronaldo and company.
After an early-season stutter, Luis Castro’s well-oiled Al-Nassr are marching on full steam and crushing everything in their sight. Three wins in their last three games, 14 goals scored by seven different scorers, and only one conceded. The visitors are in unstoppable form, and we are backing them to cruise to yet another victory here.
