Al-Nassr will be looking to extend their winning run to 11 games across all competitions when they host relegation-threatened Abha at Al-Awwal Park on Friday afternoon.
Fresh off securing a come-from-behind 3-1 AFC Champions League group stage victory against Tajikistan’s Istiklol in Riyadh on Monday evening, Al-Nassr will welcome Abha to the King Saud University Stadium in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
Al-Nassr survived a scare in the Asian Champions League on Monday, with the Saudi Pro League side coming from a goal down to hand Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol a 3-1 defeat in Riyadh thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s cleverly clipped finish in the 66th minute before Anderson Talisca scored a brace to put the result beyond doubt.
The victory was Al-Nassr’s second in a row in the group stage of the competition and moves Luis Castro’s side three points clear at the top of Group E. The hosts have bounced back splendidly since back-to-back defeats in their first two Saudi top-flight games of the season and have won six league games in a row.
Ronaldo scored an 87th-minute winner to help them edge past Al-Tai 2-1 in the Saudi Pro League last time out. Al-Nassr are now just two points behind league leaders Al-Hilal on 18 points. Ronaldo and co. will now aim for a seventh straight league win that could take them to the summit if results elsewhere go their way.
Abha, meanwhile, will travel to Riyadh, seeking to stop a poor run that has seen them suffer four league defeats in a row. The visitors fell to a 1-0 narrow loss against Al-Riyadh at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium on Saturday as Andre Gray struck a late winner.
Before that, they secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Hajer Club in the King Cup of Champions round of 32. With only six points collected from their eight matches so far, Czeslaw Michniewicz’s men sit 16th in the standings, albeit just one point adrift of safety.
They have met twice in 2023 thus far, once in the league and once in the Kings Cup. The hosts recorded wins in both games with an aggregate score of 5-2. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Al-Nassr
Al-Nassr are heading into this affair with a clean bill of health, with Madu returning to practice this week and being in contention to feature here. Left-back Alex Telles could return to the starting XI after missing out on Monday’s AFC Champions League action due to the governing body’s rules over limited foreign players in the matchday squad.
Sadio Mane was not involved on Monday, so he will be fresh now and raring to go. Luis Castro will continue to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of Nawaf Al-Aqidi, who remains the first-choice in between the sticks, with David Ospina out for the long term.
Talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has been in excellent form throughout the 2023/24 season, scoring ten goals from seven league games, demonstrating his deadly finishing ability. Brazilian attacker Anderson Talisca is also on fire for the hosts right now, having found the back of the net six times in his last four games, making him definitely one to keep an eye on here.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Al Aqidi; Telles, Lajami, Laporte, Al Ghannam; Brozovic, Al Khaibari; Mane, Otavio, Talisca; Ronaldo
Abha
Abha will be without the services of forward Felipe Caicedo, who is suffering from a knee problem that has kept him out for the ongoing season so far. Striker Abdu is also nursing an injury and will not be back until after the international break.
Amidst a flurry of transfer activity across the league, Abha also significantly bolstered their squad significantly, nabbing several high-profile names, namely Grzegorz Krychowiak, Karl Toko Ekambi, Ciprian Tatarusanu, and Nemanja Matic, all of whom are likely to start here.
Czeslaw Michniewicz is expected to mirror Nassr’s 4-2-3-1 formation, with 37-year-old Tatarusanu starting in between the sticks in the injury absence of Epassy. The central defensive unit should feature Saleh Al Qumayzi, Fabian Noguera, Zakaria Al Sudani, and Mohammad Naji.
The flat-back four will remain compact to shut out the passing lanes, receiving defensive support from the wingers and the double pivot in front of them. Fahad Al-Jumayah failed to impress on a rare start last time out and could make way for Mohammed Al-Oufi in the visitors’ XI.
Toko Ekambi is the club’s top scorer with two goals this season. But the Cameroonian striker has been starved of any service lately and will have to be clinical with the very few scoring chances he may get on Friday up against a superior opponent.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Al Qumayzi, Noguera, Al Sudani, Naji; Matic, Krychowiak; Al Oufi, Kamano, Al Ali; Toko Ekambi
Key Stats
- The two teams have met 13 times in all competitions, with the hosts dominating proceedings against their Western rivals with eight wins (D4 L2).
- Al-Nassr have the best-attacking record in the league this season, scoring 24 goals in eight games.
- Abha have the joint-worst attacking record, scoring just five goals in eight games.
- The hosts come into the match on a 10-game winning streak in all competitions.
- The visitors have picked up six defeats in their nine games in all competitions this season.
Player to Watch
Cristiano Ronaldo
Despite being in the twilight years of his career, the Portuguese international is still proving he knows where the goal is. Not only is he the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer with ten goals this season and scooped Saudi Pro League Player of the Month for August, he scored his first goal in the AFC Champions League on Monday, scoring a delightful chip to level the scores to inspire Al-Nassr to a comeback 3-1 victory against Tajikistan’s Istiklol.
Prior to that, he converted a clinical penalty in the 87th minute, slotting into the bottom left corner, to secure a victory against Al-Tai in the Saudi Pro League. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has already bagged more goals for Al-Nassr this season than he did in the 2022/23 season, scoring 17 goals in 16 matches in comparison to 14 in 19 games last term. Needless to say, the Al-Nassr talisman will be looking to add to his season tally against a weak Abha backline.
Prediction
Al-Nassr 2-0 Abha
Having fired 15 goals across their most recent four matches on home soil, the Knights of Najd will be confident of putting on another attacking masterclass in front of their fans. Abha’s four-game losing streak does not inspire much confidence in their chances in this match, and the hosts should win this one quite comfortably and make it seven in a row.