Al-Nassr will look to make it four wins on the bounce when they face Damac in Friday’s Saudi Pro League encounter at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium.
After recording eight wins, six draws, and four losses from their opening 18 league games, Damac were sitting as high as fifth in the Saudi Pro League table ahead of the game against Al-Nassr this week.
However, a slump in form has seen Damac secure just one win in eight league matches. That one win came against Al-Wehda on March 7. But since then, Cosmin Contra’s side have lost back-to-back games against Al-Hilal and Al-Khaleej before drawing 0-0 with Al-Hazm.
Luis Castro’s side, on the other hand, are currently sitting in second place in the league table and carry some momentum behind them after winning their last three league matches. They began their excellent run of wins with a narrow victory against Al-Ahli, followed by a dominant 5-1 triumph over Al-Tai, with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging a hat-trick in the second half.
The Portugal international went on to register another hat-trick in the first-half on Monday to help his side ease to a dominant 8-0 win against relegation-threatened Abha away from home. Although they have won nine of their last 11 league games, Al-Nassr remain 12 points behind leaders Al-Hilal, who have dropped just four points all season long.
The Knights of Najd will have the chance to defeat Al-Hilal in Monday’s Super Cup semi-final. But before that they will look to continue their positive momentum in Friday’s clash with Damac. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Damac
Damac will have to make do without the services of midfielder Bader Munshi, who is set to serve a one-match suspension after picking up his fourth yellow card of the Saudi Pro League season last time out.
Domagoj Antolic and Tarek Hamed both missed Monday’s draw with Al-Hazm through suspension. But the duo is expected to come back into the starting lineup here. Striker Abdulaziz Al-Shahrani is also vying for a starting berth after coming off the bench in Damac’s last two games against Al-Khaleej and Al-Hazm, with their attack misfiring largely at the moment.
Damac have so far netted 38 goals after 26 league games. 19 of those have had a direct involvement from talisman Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, who was signed as a Bosman transfer from Turkish side Besiktas at the start of the season and has so far scored 15 goals and produced four assists in 24 games.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Zeghba; Solan, Chafai, Bedrane, Al-Anazi; Al-Bishi, Antolic, Hamed, Stanciu, N’Koudou; Al-Shahrani
Al-Nassr
The Knights of Najd are unable to call upon the services of key attacker Anderson Talisca, who is out for the rest of the season owing to a thigh problem.
Al-Nassr are also set to be without the services of Waleed Abdullah, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Abdulelah Al-Amri, and Sultan Al-Ghannam. On the flip side, former Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic served his suspension in the win over Abha and is likely to be recalled to the starting lineup to partner Otavio in the engine room.
Goal-machine Cristiano Ronaldo will spearhead the Al-Nassr attack against Damac as the central striker, flanked by the wing duo of Ghareeb and Sadio Mane, and supplied by attacking midfielder Sami Al-Najei.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Boushal, Al-Fatil, Laporte, Telles; Otavio, Brozovic; Mane, Al-Najei, Ghareeb; Ronaldo
Key Stats
- Al-Nassr have scored an incredible 13 goals in their last two league games.
- Al Nassr have won five straight matches against Damac.
- Four of Damac’s last five games saw at least one team fail to score.
- The visitors are on a three-match winning streak.
- The hosts have lost three out of their previous four home games.
Player to Watch
Cristiano Ronaldo
What a striking phenomenon! Ageing like fine wine. When everyone doubts his ability waning with age, he pops up again, forcing the onlookers to stand up and just applause this active legend of the game. Ronaldo grabbed his second hat trick in the space of three days as Al-Nassr thrashed Abha 8-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored three goals, including two free-kicks, and recorded two assists in the first half for the nine-time Saudi Arabian champions before being subbed off. The hat-trick was his third of the league season following his treble in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Al-Tai, taking his overall tally to 29 goals as he sits pretty atop the Saudi Pro League goalscoring charts.
Prediction
Damac 1-2 Al-Nassr
Few anticipated Damac to be in the top eight of the Saudi Pro League standings with just eight games left to play in the season. But they are holding their own against bigger clubs.
Having said that, the home side are not enjoying their best run of the season heading into this encounter with Al-Nassr, who are a class above Damac in terms of stardom and the size of the club. The Hard Tackle expects the visitors to comfortably win this one.
