Al Nassr travels to Saihat to face Al Khaleej at the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Stadium on Friday. This marks the second and final meeting between the two sides in the ongoing Saudi League season. When the teams last met in November 2023, Al Nassr registered a 2-0 win. Al Nassr’s major concern before the game revolves around their captain Cristiano Ronaldo. He was originally meant to serve a ban in the Al Khaleej tie. But certain reports reveal his ban has been lifted.

Notably, outside the Saudi League, Al Nassr and Al Khaleej lock horns again in the King Cup of Champions semi-final on April 30. So tomorrow’s match will be a perfect stage for both teams to prepare well for a far more decisive game that allows them to compete for silverware. Al Nassr is currently the second seed in the SPL. But they have bottled the title race, with Al Hilal in the pole position. Meanwhile, Al Khaleej is the league’s 10th seed. Therefore, the King Cup will be the only chance for either team to win a trophy. 

Al Khaleej vs Al Nassr: injury report and expected lineups

Al Khaleej injuries

Al Khaleej has reported no injuries before entering the Al Nassr tie.

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Al Khaleej: Expected Starting XI

(4-3-3): Ibrahim Sehic; Saeed Al Hamsal, Mohammed Al-Khabrani, Naif Masoud, Pedro Rebocho; Mansour Ibrahim Hamzi, Woo-young Jung, Ivo Rodrigues; Khaled Narey, Mohamed Sherif, Fabio Martins

Al Nassr injuries

Luis Catro’s side has star striker Anderson Talisca on their injury list. He’s nursing a season-ending thigh injury. Besides, Al Nassr’s veteran reserve goalie Waleed Abdullah is also out due to injury. 

Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Arabian journalist Aymen Al-Tamimi recently confirmed that he won’t be banned during the Al Khaleej tie. The Saudi League’s disciplinary committee banned Ronaldo for two games after he elbowed Al Hilal’s Ali Al-Bulayhi in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final. However, the yellow team had reportedly appealed against the committee to reduce the ban. Moreover, CR7 has also trained with the team before the match against the Saihat-based team. So it is likely he will start for the Knights of Najd.

Al Nassr: Expected starting XI

(3-4-2-1): David Ospina; Abdulelah Al-Amri, Aymeric Laporte, Mohammed Al-Fatil; Alex Telles, Marcelo Brozovic, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Sultan Al-Ghannam; Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Otavio; Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Khaleej vs Al Nassr head-to-head

The two teams have previously met 14 times across competitions. Ronaldo’s side has won eight out of these. Al Khaleej has managed to win only once against the Riyadh club. Meanwhile, five of these 14 matches ended in a draw.

Prediction

The Knights of Najd are unbeaten against Al Khaleej in the last three meetings. Ronaldo and Co. are also on a four-game winning streak in the Saudi Pro League. The hosts, on the other hand, have been winless in their last four league games. Given this staggering difference in form, we predict Al Khaleej to lose 1-3 against the guests.

Where to watch the Al Khaleej-Al Nassr tie?

The match kicks off on Friday at 2.00 PM EST. Fans in the US can watch the match live on ESPN.

Tell us your predictions for the match in the comments below.