Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | Saudi Pro League

Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad Preview

• Tournament: Saudi Pro League
• Date: Wednesday, 7 May 2025
• Kick-Off Time: 18:00 PM GMT
• Venue: Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh

Al-Nassr look to crawl their way back into contention for the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League title as they host an in-form Al-Ittihad side at the Al-Awwal Park. The Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad clash takes place on Wednesday, 7 May 2025 at 18:00 PM GMT.

Al-Nassr's form has dropped in recent weeks, as they have won just two of their last five competitive games. They are coming off elimination from the AFC Champions League Elite and are in third place in the Saudi Pro League with 60 points from 29 games.

Stefano Pioli's side are just eight points behind league leaders Al-Ittihad and can reduce that gap with a big win. That is why he'll need to motivate his side to be defensively much sturdier in the upcoming games, and hope his explosive attacking line can be at their clinical best to finish off chances and stun the Al-Ittihad defenders.

Al-Ittihad are in a pretty comfortable place in 1st position in the Saudi Pro League table with 68 points from 29 games. They have won three of their last five league games, which including a hard fought 3-2 win over Al-Ettifaq recently.

Laurent Blanc's side have won seven games on the road this season, but their last away win was back in February. That's why the Frenchman will want his side to maintain their high spirits from the win over Al-Ettifaq and trouble the shaken up Al-Nassr side. While Al-Ittihad needs to be alert and proactive defensively, they will look to play on the frontfoot and use their innovative attacking style to hurt their backline and get a huge win to strengthen their grip on the title.

Al-Nassr Team News

Stefano Pioli remains without his attacking midfielder Sami Al-Najei. The 28-year-old suffered a nasty knee injury at the beginning of the campaign has been sidelined every since. He is unlikely to play any more part this season. Jhon Duran and Salem Al Najdi are suspended for this game.

Al-Ittihad Team News

Laurent Blanc is also dealing with the absence of a few crucial players. Steven Bergwijn remains on the sidelines after picking up an ankle injury. Goalkeeper Pregrag Rajkovic is also sidelined with a knock. There is no timeframe on when either of the two players can be expected to return to action.

Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad Predicted Lineups

Al-Nassr Predicted Lineup (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Bento

Defenders: Sultan Al Ghanam, Mohammed Simakan, Aymeric Laporte, Nawaf Boushal

Midfielders: Marcelo Brozovic, Ali Alhassan

Forwards: Otavio, Sadio Mane, Wesley, Cristiano Ronaldo

Al-Ittihad Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Mohammed Al-Mahasneh

Defenders: Fawaz Al-Sqoor, Saad Al-Mousa, Danilo Pereira, Hassan Kadesh

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante, Fabinho, Houssem Aouar

Forwards: Moussa Diaby, Unai Hernandez, Karim Benzema

Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad Head-to-Head Record

These two Saudi Arabian sides have faced each other on 49 occasions. Out of that, Al-Ittihad have won 19 games and Al-Nassr have won on 16 occasions. In their last five meetings, Al-Ittihad have won three games and Al-Nassr have won three times.

Key Players to Watch in Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad

Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)

Cristiano Ronaldo has fired up the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League with 23 goals from 27 games, having a 18% goal conversion success and averaging 2.3 shots on target per game. The Portuguese icon will be looking to bounce back from the disappointing recent loss to Kawasaki Frontale in the AFC Champions League Elite.

He'll need to be at his sharpest against Al-Ittihad to uplift his side to a defining performance. Ronaldo needs to use his experience and IQ to make some clever runs to fool the Al-Ittihad defenders and create space for himself, but will need to be clinical and decisive with his finishing to help his side to a big win.

Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)

Karim Benzema has played an instrumental role in Al-Ittihad'd push for the Saudi Pro League title, scoring 18 goals in 26 games so far. He's had a 19% goal conversion rate and averaging 1.8 shots on target per game. The Frenchman will look to maintain his good form after getting two goal contributions against Al-Ettifaq.

Benzema will look to drop deep to disrupt the opposition backline and help create chances for his teammates. He will, of course, also look to be clever with his final third movement and needs to be spot on with his finishing to ensure Al-Ittihad return home with a decisive victory.

Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad Prediction

The matches between these two sides have been highly entertaining, dramatic affairs in the last few years. Even though Al-Nassr have had the better of Al-Ittihad in their recent meetings, their morale is damaged after the recent elimination from the Asian competition.

Al-Ittihad are flying high on momentum and their players are highly spirited to push for the title. Al-Ittihad's explosiveness in the attack could end up being too hot to handle for Al-Nassr, allowing them to get a narrow win in what should be a thrilling bout.

Predicted Score: Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Ittihad

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