Luis Castro To Bench Cristiano Ronaldo? Damac Vs Al Nassr- Expected Lineups, Injuries, Head-to-Head, Live Streaming & How To Watch Saudi Pro League On TV

Al Nassr will play Damac FC at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium on Friday. This marks the two clubs’ second meeting of the ongoing Saudi Pro League season. Al Nassr is in top form lately, winning their last four matches in style. The Knights of Najd’s 8-0 win against Abha was their biggest league win ever. Meanwhile, Damac is struggling without a win in their last three league games, losing twice and drawing once. The Riyadh-based outfit is currently the second seed in the Saudi League table, whereas Damac is its eighth seed.

Cristiano Ronaldo‘s awe-inspiring recent form is at the center of his team’s iconic run. The Portuguese has scored in all four of Al-Alami’s recent wins. Besides, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in each of Al Nassr’s last two games. Nevertheless, there is a chance that the Riyadh-based outfit would miss the 5x Ballon d’Or winner’s services against Damac.

Al Nassr vs Damac: Injuries and Expected Lineups

Al Nassr injuries

As of now, Luis Castro’s side has their veteran goalie Waleed Abdullah, and superstar striker Anderson Talisca on their injury list. Notably, Talisca is nursing a season-ending thigh injury. Besides these two, Al Nassr will also probably miss center back Abdulelah Al-Amri, who got injured last month. Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo’s chances, he is fit for the Damac game. However, the Damac game is followed by a far more crucial Al Hilal game. This means Ronaldo would play in three matches within seven days. That is too much to ask of the veteran at this point. Besides, Castro subbed Ronaldo off in the last game, despite his hat-trick heroics. So we expect Castro to rest the Portuguese talisman for the Damac clash.

Al Nassr expected starting XI

(4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Al-Fatil, Aymeric Laporte, Alex Telles; Otavio, Abdulmajid Al Sulaiheem; Sadio Mane, Sami Al-Najei, Abdulrahman Ghareeb; Abdul Aziz Al-Aliwa.

Damac injuries

Cosmin Contra’s side has reported no injuries. However, the side will miss their right back Sanousi Hawsawi’s services on Friday’s clash. Hawsawi received a straight red card in Damac’s last game against Al Khaleej and will subsequently miss the next game.

Damac expected starting XI

(4-1-4-1): Moustapha Zeghba; Ramzi Solan, Farouk Chafai, Abdelkader Bedrane, Dhari Al-Anazi; Bader Munshi; Abdulaziz Al-Bishi, Abdulaziz Majrashi, Nicolae Stanciu, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou; Ahmed Al-Zain.

Al Nassr vs Damac head-to-head and prediction

Al Nassr and Damac have met 10 times previously. The former has won seven of those matches. Two matches ended in a draw. Damac managed only one win against the Knights of Najd, which came in the 2020-21 season in April. Besides, the Knights of Najd have won the last five times they played Damac. Considering this drastic difference between the two sides and Al Nassr’s recent form, we predict them to win 4-1 against Damac.

READ MORE: Coach Luis Castro Belittles Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr’s History, Says ‘Don’t Think They Won Championships Every Year’

Where to watch the Saudi League tie?

Fans can catch the Al Nassr-Damac game live on ESPN.

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

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