The Saudi Pro League’s great contemporary rivalry is renewed this weekend as title hopefuls Al-Nassr visit Al-Hilal at their stomping ground, King Fahd International Stadium, for a top-of-the-table spectacular on Friday evening.
This is a fixture that is always worth pencilling into your diaries. You can ill afford to miss out on an Al-Hilal vs. Al-Nassr Riyadh derby clash.
The encounters between these two sides in the recent past have delivered in almost every regard, and Friday should be no different. Both have pulled away from the chasing pack this term, with Al-Nassr four points behind Al-Hilal in pole position in the Saudi Pro League table.
Unbeaten in the Saudi top flight this season, Al-Hilal have won 12 and drawn two matches. They are currently riding on a red-hot seven-match win streak, most recently creating history by beating Al-Hazem 9-0 away from home, a record result in the Saudi Pro League.
Al-Nassr, meaning, lost their first two opening matches of the Saudi Pro League season, leaving them to play catch-up on Al-Hilal. They have roared back impressively, winning 11 of 12 league games. They have won five on the bounce since drawing with Abha in Matchweek 9. Last time out, Al-Nassr secured a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Al-Akhdoud.
Both of these sides come into this match off the back of continental action, with the visitors only managing a scoreless draw in midweek, whereas the hosts secured a fourth consecutive AFC Champions League win over Navbahor (2-0).
To add a little more spice to the clash, as if that is needed, the Knights of Najd overcame their Riyadh arch-rivals in August in the final of the King Salman Club Cup. They won 2-1 in extra time, with Ronaldo scoring both goals. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News and Tactics
Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal remain without Neymar, who picked up a long-term ligament injury during international duty with Brazil last month after scoring once and providing three assists in his first five games for the club. Their injury worries are worsened by current Asian Player of the Year Salem Al-Dawsari’s foot issue, as well as other absences such as Nasser Al-Dawsari and Muteb Al-Mufarrij.
Jorge Jesus does still have an abundance of attacking quality at his disposal, though, and we should see an unchanged front four in their 4-2-3-1 shape with the dangerous trio of Michael, Malcolm, and Salem Al-Dawsari supporting front man Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has already notched up 11 goals in 12 league matches for the Blue Waves following his switch from Fulham.
Behind that front line, Ruben Neves will hope to return alongside Mohamed Kanno in the engine room, while Ali Al-Bulayhi and Hassan Tambakti will battle to join Kalidou Koulibaly at the heart of the back four in front of stopper Yassine Bounou.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Bounou; Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Al-Bulayhi, Al-Burayk; Neves, Kanno; Al-Qahtani, Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom; Mitrovic
Al-Nassr
With a hectic fixture list in mind, Luis Castro had to make a decision about whether to rotate his squad for the game against Persepolis, potentially risking a defeat but preserving his best players for Friday’s Riyadh derby. He made five changes to the starting XI that beat Al-Akhdoud 3-0 last weekend as his side secured a credible 0-0 draw. So, expect him to deploy a strong side here.
Al-Nassr talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be fit in time for this week’s crucial Saudi Pro League clash against Al-Hilal, despite appearing to injure his neck in the Asian Champions League on Monday. The 38-year-old was withdrawn from the Group E encounter with Persepolis in the 77th minute after colliding with opposition goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
1 December 🔜 pic.twitter.com/CrbK4OEk1j
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) November 29, 2023
Aside from the skipper, David Ospina is a long-term absentee, which should see young Saudi Arabian international Nawaf Alaqidi continue between the sticks for the visitors, having emerged as one of Saudi Arabia’s most reliable pair of hands since the start of the season. Up against the season’s most prolific attack, he will need to be at his best.
Aymeric Laporte could come back to partner up with Ali Lajami, who picked up a red card against Persepolis in midweek but will still be available to feature on the domestic circuit. The centre-back pairing’s battle with the imposing Aleksandar Mitrovic could be one to watch.
Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way this season in Saudi top-flight goals (15 in 13 games) and sits joint-top of the assist charts with seven. Quite clearly, the Portuguese star will be the visitors’ go-to man in attack. He will be supported by the deadly attacking trio of Otavio, Anderson Talisca, and Sadio Mane.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Alaqidi; Al-Boushal, Alawjami, Laporte, Telles; Brozovic, Fofana; Otavio, Talisca, Mane; Ronaldo
Key Stats
- The hosts Al-Hilal boast the best-attacking record in the Saudi Pro League this season, hitting 43 goals in 14 games.
- Meanwhile, Al-Nassr have the second-best attacking record, finding the back of the net 39 times so far.
- Al-Hilal have lost just one of their last five meetings against the visitors, with that defeat coming in the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup final in August (W3 D1).
- The visitors have won nine straight games on their travels since a defeat to Al-Ettifaq in their Saudi Pro League opener in August.
- Al Hilal are on a 13-match winning streak, while their opponents are unbeaten in 20 matches.
Player to Watch
Aleksandar Mitrovic
After speculation throughout the summer that Aleksandar Mitrovic was headed to Saudi Arabia, Al-Hilal finally tempted Fulham to let go of their star man for a whopping £50 million fee. But so far, Mitrovic has been worth every penny.
Tailing Ronaldo closely for the Golden Boot, the former Fulham striker has been in scintillating form since the start of the 2023/24 season, firing 18 goals from 20 appearances in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Al-Ittihad. For the king’s ransom he is most likely earning, he is proving himself to be a clutch player for the hosts and would likely be the biggest threat to Al-Nassr’s backline.
Prediction
Al-Hilal 2-3 Al-Nassr
This is a huge match between two of the so-called ‘big four’ in Saudi Arabia and the top two teams in the Pro League table ahead of this round of fixtures. Overcoming the Blue Waves on their own patch is no mean feat.
No side has beaten them on their home turf in the last nine games across all competitions. This could be a topsy-turvy bout with goals at both ends. But you cannot bet against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr somehow edging out in a closely contested encounter this Friday.