The undoubted blockbuster fixture of gameweek 32 in the Saudi Pro League will be the star-studded Riyadh derby, which is set to take place at Al Awal Park at King Saud University on Friday evening.
For the second season in a row, Al-Nassr fell short of claiming the Saudi Pro League title after Al-Hilal secured the crown with a commanding 4-1 victory over relegation favourites Al-Hazem on Saturday.
Match preview
© Reuters
Al-Nassr secured their 25th victory of the Saudi Pro League season by defeating Al-Okhdood 3-2 in a tense encounter last week, courtesy of a brace, including a late winning goal from Marcelo Brozovic.
Between the Croatian's goals, Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 33rd league goal of the campaign and 48th of the season - his best tally since the 2015-16 season when he scored a monstrous 51 goals with Real Madrid and earned the Ballon d'Or at the end of the campaign.
Ronaldo is now one goal shy of the all-time record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Pro League season, currently held by Moroccan Abderrazak Hamdallah, who netted 34 times in the 2018-19 edition. With three games remaining in the campaign, it is difficult to imagine he will not at least equal that record.
Despite the Portuguese star's heroics this term, Al-Alami are set to finish as runners-up for the second consecutive season, and while they did beat this opponent to the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023, it is not considered an official tournament according to FIFA regulations, which takes some of the shine off that achievement.
Al-Nassr's last encounter against Al-Hilal was in the Super Cup semi-final last month, which they lost 2-1 after CR7's frustrations boiled over, leading to him being sent off in the closing stages. Undoubtedly, the Al-Nassr skipper will have that in mind and will be determined to exact his revenge in this one.
© Reuters
While it would be easy to criticise and pick out reasons why the Knights of Najd failed to win their first top-flight title since 2018-19, it should not take anything away from the sheer dominance that Al-Hilal have displayed this term.
The champions clinched their record-extending 19th Pro League title with three games remaining, maintaining an unbeaten streak and dropping just four points out of the 91 available up to gameweek 31 when they beat bottom club Al Hazem.
Against the Hazemies, a brace from former Fulham talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic proved decisive. His Serbian teammate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also found the net, while an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid secured the victory for the Blue Waves.
That result took Hilal back 12 points clear of Nassr with only nine points left to play for and marked their 24th consecutive league win dating back to a 1-1 draw against Damac in mid-September.
Jorge Jesus's side's accomplishments this season underline their status as Saudi Arabia's premier force, and regardless of the outcome here, they are still firm favourites to complete the domestic treble this season when they face this opponent in the King's Cup, which is expected to take place at the end of this month.
Team News
© Reuters
Vitor Severino stood in for Luis Castro, who was absent from the touchline for Al-Nassr's last match following a recent lung surgery, but the Portuguese manager will return to the dugout here, as this is a home match.
Waleed Abdullah, who is dealing with a leg injury, is one of several sidelined players, along with Talisca, Sami Al-Najei, and Abdulrahman Ghareeb, who are all recovering from muscle injuries. Nawaf Al-Aqidi is still serving his five-month suspension.
Therefore, David Ospina will continue in goal, and the veteran shot-stopper should be protected by the backline of Sultan Al-Ghannam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Aymeric Laporte and Alex Telles, with Abdullah Al-Khaibari playing in the pivot.
Brazilian superstar Neymar joined his team in celebrating their league triumph following their victory over Al Hazem, and reports suggest that he will be ready to return to action for the Blue Waves in preseason.
Salman Al-Faraj has now been absent from the matchday squad for Hilal's last two matches after coming off the bench against Al-Taawoun at the start of the month and is flagged as a doubt for this one as well.
Mitrovic currently trails Ronaldo by seven goals in the race for the Golden Boot and will almost certainly lead the line here alongside the Brazilian duo of Michael and Malcom.
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Al-Ghannam, Al-Amri, Laporte, Telles; Al-Khaibari; Yahya, Al-Hassan, Brozovic, Mane; Ronaldo
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Al Bulaihi, Al Shahrani; Neves, Kanno; Michael, Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom; Mitrovic
We say: Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Hilal
While Al-Hilal have already wrapped up the Saudi Pro League title, they will want to keep their unbeaten record intact and a win here will give them another huge psychological advantage leading up to the King's Cup final. Travelling to Al Awal Park is never an easy task but we fancy the Blue Waves to continue their incredible league dominance with another victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
