Al Nassr Vs Al Shabab Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | Saudi Pro League

Al Nassr Vs Al Shabab Preview

• Tournament: Saudi Pro League
• Date: Saturday, March 7
• Kick-off time: 19:00 GMT
• Venue: Al-Awwal Park

Al Nassr are set to tussle against Al Shabab in round 24 action of the Saudi Pro League at Al-Awwal Park on Saturday.

Al Nassr will be aiming to return to winning ways in the league after suffering a 2-1 defeat against newcomers Al Orobah in the last match. It was a very poor effort from the team, who seem to lack ideas with injuries also playing a crucial role in their downfall. The Knight of Najd are currently languishing in fourth place, four points shy of third place Al Qadsiah. They have accumulated 47 points from 23 matches so far, securing two wins and two losses in their last four matches. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most goals for this term with 17 while Sadio Mane provides the most assists.

Al Shabab on the other hand has performed well in recent matches securing two wins and one draw in their last three matches. As a result, they currently find themselves in sixth position in the table, 12 points behind third-place Al Qadsiah and eight points behind their counterpart on Saturday. The last match victory over Damac was one of their impressive wins as they kept a clean sheet for the first time after 14 matches. Fatih Terim will be hoping to improve their record against Al Nassr as they have the quality in Abderrazak Hamdallah who is their leading goalscorer with 13 and Christian Guanca providing the most assists(6).

Al Nassr Team News

Al Nassr are missing several key players for this clash. Defenders Aymeric Laporte, Sultan Al Ghanam, and Ali Lajami have been a huge miss for them in recent matches with the team missing their leadership and excellent passing distributions. Also, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, and Otavio missed out due to injuries which will give Stefan Pioli a big headache for this clash. The good news is Jhon Duran is back in the lineup which gives a new dimension to attack.

Al Shabab Team News

As for the visitors, they have three injury concerns in their squad. Fahad Al-Muwallad and Seung-Gyu Kim are dealing with chest and cruciate ligament injuries. Also, Yannick Carrasco remains a possible doubt for this match as he recovers from a muscle injury.

Al Nassr Vs Al Shabab Predicted Lineups

Al Nassr predicted lineup(4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Krepski

Defenders: Al-Boushali, Simakan, Al Fatil, Al Najdi

Midfielders: Gabriel, Brozovic, Al Sulaiheem, Mane

Attackers: Duran, Ronaldo

Al Shabab predicted lineup(3-4-1-2):

Goalkeeper: Al-Mayouf

Defenders: Al Shwirekh, Hoedt, Renan

Midfielders: Al-Thani, Guanca, Leandrinho, Al-Juwayr

Attackers: Bonaventura, Podence, Hamdallah

Al Nassr Vs Al Shabab H2H Record

Al Nassr have been the dominant side between the two in the last five matches, winning four matches and drawing another one.

Key players to watch in Al Nassr Vs Al Shabab

Cristiano Ronaldo(Al Nassr)

Cristiano Ronaldo continues to amaze the world of football with his amazing goalscoring record. Despite turning 40 years old, he is not showing any sign of slowing down, with a great scoring spree of 17 goals from 22 matches, he is leading the goalscoring record for now. However, the last five matches haven't been that great for him, having scored two in his last five matches with an xG of 0.6. Lack of clear-cut chances has also been a reason, as we have already seen he is a predator inside the box if given the chance.

Abderrazak Hamdallah(Al Shabab)

Hamdallah has been a household name in the Saudi Pro League with the forward playing for a number of sides. Having signed for the club in the summer from Al Ittihad, he has enjoyed great success so far having scored 13 goals from 18 appearances this season. In his last five matches in the division, Hamdallah has found the back of the net three times with an xG of 0.8.

Al Nassr Vs Al Shabab Prediction

Al Nassr haven't been at their brilliant best recently with injuries playing a major role in their performance. Al Shabab on the other hand have faired well in recent matches but their record against Cristiano and Co has been very concerning. However, we expect Al Nassr to secure a narrow victory here considering their strong record and home advantage on their side.

Predicted Score: Al Nassr 2-1 Al Shabab

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