Al Wahda and Al-Nassr bring round 13 of the Saudi Professional League to an end when they go head to head at the King Abdul Aziz Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts head into the weekend fresh off the back of ending their five-game winless run, while the Global One set out in search of a seventh consecutive victory across all competitions.
Match preview
© Reuters
Al Wahda returned to winning ways in the Professional League last Monday as they edged out nine-man Al Hazem 2-1 when the sides squared off at the Al Hazm Club Stadium.
Having trailed at half time courtesy of Bruno Viana's 23rd-minute opener, the visitors upped the ante in the second half as substitute Abdulaziz Noor struck twice in a 15-minute spell to turn the tie on its head.
Prior to that, Al Wahda were on a run of five consecutive games without a win, picking up one draw and losing four, including a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Al-Taawoun in the round of 16 of the King's Cup on October 31.
Georgios Donis's men have now picked up five wins, one draw and lost six of their 12 Professional League matches to collect 16 points and sit eighth in the league table, seven points above the bottom three.
While Al Wahda will look to pick up where they left off on Monday and secure successive league victories for the first time since September, next up is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 14 of their previous 17 meetings, claiming 11 wins and three draws since September 2012.
© Reuters
Al-Nassr, on the other hand, maintained their 100% record in Group E of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday when they picked up a 3-2 victory over Qatar-based outfit Al Duhail at the Khalifa International Stadium.
After falling behind to Philippe Coutinho's eighth-minute strike, Brazilian forward Anderson Talisca took matters into his own hands as he scored a hat-trick to turn the game around before Coutinho halved the deficit from the penalty spot in the 80th minute.
With Tuesday's result, Al-Nassr have now won each of their last six matches, a run which confirmed their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League and has seen them reach the quarter-finals of the King's Cup courtesy of a 1-0 extra-time victory over Al-Ettifaq on October 31.
Luis Castro's men have also gone unbeaten in 17 consecutive outings across all competitions, picking up 16 wins and one draw since losing successive games to Al-Ettifaq and Al-Taawon respectively in the league back in August.
With 28 points from 12 matches, Al-Nassr are currently second in the Professional League standings, two points above third-placed Al-Ahli and four behind league leaders Al-Hilal.
The Global One head into the weekend on a run of eight consecutive away wins in all competitions and currently boast the division's second-best point tally on the road (15), only behind Al-Hilal (16) after six matches.
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Off the back of an eye-catching cameo, Noor could be rewarded with a place in the starting side, which will see Dutch forward Vito van Crooij sweat over his role in the XI.
Having scored six goals in his first six games since his summer move from Al-Hilal, the goals appear to have dried up for Odion Ighalo, who has now failed to find the back of the net in his last six matches.
However, we expect the former Nigeria international to spearhead Al Wahda's attack, while Donis could name an unchanged back four of Islam Ahmed Hawsawi, Oscar Duarte, Abdullah Al-Hafith and Saeed Al Muwallad once again.
Cristiano Ronaldo was a noticeable absentee in the Al-Nassr squad against Al Duhail last Tuesday but the 38-year-old should return to lead the Al-Nassr attack this weekend.
In his absence, Talisca grabbed the headlines with another outstanding performance, and the Brazilian forward, who now has 19 goals and assists across all competitions, will be one to look out for.
On the injury front, Al-Nassr remain without veteran goalkeeper David Ospina, who continues his long journey to full fitness after picking up an injury back in January.
Al Wahda possible starting lineup:
Hawsawi, Duarte, Al-Hafith, Muwallad; Anselmo, Fajr; Noor; Goodwin, Issa; Ighalo
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Al-Najjar; Alkhaibari, Alamri, Fatil, Telles; Fofana, Brozovic, Ahmed, Talisca, Mane; Ronaldo
We say: Al Wahda 0-3 Al-Nassr
Al-Nassr turned in another dominant team performance in midweek and will head into Saturday's game with sky-high confidence. Castro's men are currently firing on all cylinders, and looking at the gulf in class and quality between the two sides, we are backing them to come away with all three points once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
