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The Saudi Pro League title race is already tight, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr can’t afford any slip-ups. Ange Postecoglou’s defending champions host NEOM at Al-Awwal Park on Tuesday night knowing that anything less than three points could leave them further adrift of the leaders.
Al-Nassr are third with 19 points from eight games, three points behind leaders Al-Qadsiah and two behind Al-Hilal. They’ve won six, drawn one and lost one of their league games so far, scoring 19 goals and conceding just seven.
Their form heading into this one is good. They beat Al-Diriyah 3-0 in their last league game before the international break, and they followed it up with a 3-1 win over Neftchi Fargʻona in the AFC Champions League Elite. That was a welcome response after a chastening 4-0 defeat to Al-Ain earlier in the same competition.
“Every match has its own character, but we know that Neom are an opponent not to be underestimated, and we are ready to achieve a positive result and take the three points to continue our journey in the league,” Postecoglou said.
NEOM have been one of the stories of the season so far. Now in their second campaign in the top flight after an impressive debut season, they sit fifth with 16 points from nine games. They are coming off a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Al-Ettifaq in their last outing, though.
History is firmly on Al-Nassr’s side. The sides have met twice in the Pro League, and Al-Nassr won both. Ronaldo scored in a 3-1 win in the first-ever meeting last November.
Saudi-Arabia
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Qadisiyah FC | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 22 | W W D W W |
| 2 | Al-Hilal Saudi FC | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 19 | 21 | W W L W W |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 19 | W D W L W |
| 4 | Al-Ittihad FC | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 17 | L W W W D |
| 5 | NEOM | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 16 | L D W W W |
| 6 | Al-Ahli Jeddah | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 15 | W W L W L |
| 7 | Al-Ettifaq | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 15 | W D D D W |
| 8 | Al Diriyah | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 12 | D L D W L |
| 9 | Al Kholood | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 12 | L L L W D |
| 10 | Al Khaleej Saihat | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 12 | W W D D D |
| 11 | Al-Hazm | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 9 | L D L W D |
| 12 | Al Riyadh | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 9 | D W D L W |
| 13 | Al Shabab | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 7 | W D L L D |
| 14 | Al-Fayha | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 7 | L D D L D |
| 15 | Al-Faisaly FC | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 6 | W L D D L |
| 16 | Al-Fateh | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 | -11 | 6 | L W L L L |
| 17 | Al Taawon | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 4 | D L L L D |
| 18 | Abha | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 15 | -9 | 2 | L D L L L |
Al-Nassr will be without Kingsley Coman, who needs around a week of treatment and rehabilitation after picking up an injury in the 3-1 win over Neftchi. The French winger is still working through his rehab programme and has yet to rejoin group training.
Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Mohamed Simakan are also set to miss out.
NEOM are not reported to have any major injury concerns. Alexandre Lacazette and Saïd Benrahma are expected to lead the attack.
Al-Nassr: Bento; Al-Ghannam, Al-Sharari, Martínez, Boushal; Al-Khaibari, Samu Costa; Yahya, João Félix, Mané; Ronaldo
NEOM: Bulka; Abdi, Zeze, Hegazi, Al-Dawsari; Rodríguez, Koné, Hejji, Al-Oyayari; Lacazette, Benrahma
Recent Results : Al-Nassr
Al-Nassr v NEOM kicks off at 7pm BST (9pm local time) on Tuesday, October 20 at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
In the UK, you can watch it on DAZN.
NEOM have plenty of firepower and the loss of Coman is a blow to the home side. But we fancy them to edge it.
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