Fresh off securing a vital 2-0 victory against Persepolis in Tehran on Tuesday evening, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr take on high-flying Al-Ahli in a heavyweight Saudi Pro League clash.
In what promises to be the blockbuster fixture of the Saudi National Day weekend and one of the most exciting fixtures in the Saudi Pro League season calendar, Al-Nassr will be playing host to Al-Ahli on Friday night at the King Saud University Stadium.
These two clubs have long been titans in Saudi Arabian football, and in the current 2023–24 season, both clubs are among the early pacesetters, with Al-Ahli in third place and Al Nassr just three points behind them in sixth.
The Knights of Najd made their numerical advantage count against 10-man Persepolis in front of an empty Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Tuesday as the Saudi Pro League giants kicked off their Asian Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over the Iranian outfit.
The result saw them move to the top of Group E in the embryonic stages of the competition. It also means Luis Castro’s side extended their excellent recent record to six wins on the trot across all competitions, scoring a whopping 23 goals along the way while only conceding four at the other end of the pitch, bouncing back in style from two consecutive defeats in their first two league matches.
Having been relegated in 2022 for the first time in their history, Al-Ahli earned promotion as champions at the first time of asking and have had a splendid start to their first season back in the top-tier, exploding out of the blocks with four wins in their first four games.
They then fell to a humiliating 5-1 defeat against Al-Fateh when the teams locked horns at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium on September 2, but they returned to winning ways with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Al-Taawoun at the weekend thanks to a late stunner from Allan Saint-Maximin to scoop all three points for Ahli.
While the visitors will look to make it back-to-back league wins, now comes their biggest test to date, and it will be interesting to see which of the two PIF-owned clubs come out on top in Riyadh.
Team News & Tactics
Al-Nassr
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) September 20, 2023
The hosts will be without the services of veteran goalkeeper David Ospina, who has been sidelined since January due to a long-term injury. Summer recruit from RC Lens, Seko Fofana, has missed the last five games due to injury and will most likely be out for this game as well, while Ayman Yahya, is struggling with a knee injury and is expected to remain out for the foreseeable future.
Head coach Luis Castro is set to line his side up in a 4-2-3-1 setup. Mohammed Al-Fatil could return to partner mainstay Aymeric Laporte in central defence, protecting goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi. Alex Telles and Al-Ghannam could be the two marauding fullbacks.
As for the midfield unit, Abdullah Al-Khaibari and Marcelo Brozovic have proven to be a formidable duo in the engine room and are set to hold their respective spots here. Castro could consider a couple of changes in attack, with Abdulrahman Ghareeb making way for Anderson Talisca.
Ronaldo has been at the heart of Al-Nassr’s scoring spree in recent games, finding the back of the net in each of the past four league games to sit at the top of the Saudi Pro League scoring charts with seven goals, while Sadio Mane has also scored in each of the four matches.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Al-Aqidi; S. Al-Ghannam, Al-Fatil, Laporte, Telles; Al-Khaibari, Brozovic; Talisca, Otavio, Mane; Ronaldo
Al-Ahli Saudi
Al-Ahli will have to do without the services of Abdullah Otayf, who sustained a cruciate ligament rupture and is now not expected to be back before the start of 2024. Otherwise, head coach Matthias Jaissle has no other injury concerns to cope with ahead of the trip to Riyadh.
Merih Demiral was sent off in the final stages of Al-Ahli’s defeat against Al-Fateh on September 1 and will miss his second match of the three-match ban. Interestingly, the Turk defender’s replacement, Abdulbasit Hindi, who scored the opener inside the first five minutes of their win against Al-Taawoun last week, was also shown a straight red, and he is ineligible to play any part in Friday’s clash against Nassr.
Fahd Al-Hamad will likely partner Roger Ibanez at the heart of the back four, flanked by Majrashi and Abdullah Al-Ammar in a flat back four as they look to keep Cristiano Ronaldo and co. at bay. Edouard Mendy has been far from convincing in between the sticks for Al-Ahli since arriving from Chelsea over the summer and will be looking for only his third clean sheet here.
— Al-Ahli Saudi Club (@ALAHLI_FCEN) September 19, 2023
A particular struggle for coach Matthias Jassle will be the poor goal-scoring form of striker Roberto Firmino since his opening-day hat-trick, but the late arrival of Saudi Arabian international Firas Al-Buraikan from Al-Fateh could provide a different dynamic up top. The 23-year-old fired 17 league goals last season and already has four strikes to his name this term before switching clubs.
Out-wide, Al-Ahli have two players, Riyad Mahrez and Allan Saint-Maximin, who are certainly capable of conjuring up magic moments. The former Manchester City wizard has been absolutely lethal this season when cutting in from the right and positioning his favoured left foot for a deadly strike, while the latter is a real menace. Young Spanish prodigy Gabri Veiga, meanwhile, will offer creativity from central attacking zones.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Mendy; Majrashi, Ibanez, Al Hamad, Al Ammar; Al Majhad, Kessie; Mahrez, Veiga, Saint-Maximin; Firmino
Key Stats
- Both teams have scored in the last five meetings between these two teams.
- Al-Nassr have won the last five matches in a row while scoring more than 2.5 goals.
- Al-Ahli have scored in all six matches this season, with four of those games seeing both teams score.
- Al-Ahli have been very open at the back, having conceded the most goals (9) of the teams in the top six of the Saudi Pro League.
Player to Watch
Allan Saint-Maximin
The former Newcastle United winger does not boast the same stacked trophy cabinet and UEFA Champions League-winning credentials as some of the players in both squads, but the Frenchman is arguably the most entertaining player in the Saudi Pro League.
A terrific dribbler and a nightmare for defenders, he’s already a fan favourite amongst the Al-Ahli fanbase and will look to showcase his trickery and menace here. He has also directly contributed to three goals from six appearances for Ahli so far and scored a banger from distance last time out, making the French maverick one to keep a close watch on here.
Prediction
Al-Nassr 3-2 Al-Ahli Saudi
Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli are among the best-scoring teams in the Saudi Pro League this term and are expected to contend for the title if their red-hot recent results are anything to go by. We expect both teams’ attacking threats to shine through again and produce a high-scoring encounter.
A big concern for the visitors after the first six games of the season will be the lack of defensive stability, as they have already shipped in nine goals, which is the second-most of any outfit in the top half of the table. Taken that into account, The Hard Tackle predicts Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr will pip their old rivals in a tightly contested affair at Al-Awwal Park this Friday.