Al-nassr vs al-shabab fc lineups

Saudi Pro League. Novojyoti Bhattacharjee.

Follow Us. The Knights of Najd eliminated Al Feiha with a scoreline on aggregate and now turn their focus to the league. Al Shabab has not been in good form recently. For Al Nassr, a win means they could reduce the points gap between leaders Al Hilal to just 4, who sit on 56 points. Who will come out on top this time around?

Al-nassr vs al-shabab fc lineups

The hosts are currently in 10th place in the league standings with 24 points after 20 matches, while the visitors are in second place with 49 points over the same period. Al Shabab will be aiming for a better start to the second half of the campaign after ending in a bit of a slump, winning only one of their last seven matches of the year while losing three and drawing three. The White Lion marked the campaign restart with a win over Damak last week, with January arrival Ivan Rakitic scoring on debut for his new employers in the final 10 minutes of the match following Sanousi Al Hawsawi 's sending off. Rakitic was not the only one on debut last week, though, as Al Shabab also brought in former Flamengo manager Vitor Pereira during the break, and having won their first game with their new personnel, there is bound to be a sense of optimism in the dressing room. Al Shabab failed to win any of their first three home games this season, but following a victory over Al Hazm in mid-September, the hosts have lost only once in six games on home soil while winning four and drawing one of the remaining five. However, they now face an Al Nassr side that cruised to a win in the reverse fixture back in August, which marked their fourth consecutive match without victory against the Knights of Najd W0 D1 L3. Meanwhile, Al Nassr will resume their quest to reel in league leaders Al Hilal, who maintained their seven-point advantage at the top of the league standings with both sides securing wins last weekend. Al-Alami returned to league action with a win over Al Fateh, which extended their current winning streak in the Saudi top flight to five matches while only suffering one defeat in their last 10, which was against the Blue Waves at the start of December. Luis Castro 's side were also involved in AFC Champions League action in midweek and booked their place in the quarter-final after Cristiano Ronaldo scored their second goal of the evening to give them a aggregate win over Al Fayha. The Portuguese superstar is now on 27 goals and 11 assists in 28 matches across all competitions in and currently leads the goalscorer charts in the league, two ahead of Aleksandar Mitrovic. Barring that defeat to Al Hilal at the start of December, the visitors have won eight of their last nine away league games and have averaged over three goals scored per 90 in that time. Al Shabab were dealt a major blow during the Asian Cup, with first-team goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the group stages, which ruled him out of that competition and potentially the remainder of the season. Rakitic will almost certainly retain his spot in the middle of the park alongside Colombian Gustavo Cuellar , while Senegalese international Habib Diallo will hope to make the starting 11 after coming off the bench in the last match. Castro has a bit of a goalkeeping crisis, currently missing his first-choice option David Ospina , who missed a large chunk of the first half of the season due to an elbow injury and is now set for another spell on the sideline after picking up an injury to his thigh in a friendly against Al Hilal last month. Backup keeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi is currently serving a ban handed down by the Saudi Football Federation, and the third-choice shot-stopper Raghed Al-Najjar has now been ruled out for several weeks after picking up an injury in last week's win over Al Fateh.

Saudi Pro League Gameweek Latest News.

.

The hosts come into this match in 10th place in the league with three points after the first three matches, while the visitors are down in 14th with just two points in the early stages of the season. Al-Nassr got their season started positively, as they edged out Al Hilal for the Arab Club Champions Cup with a Cristiano Ronaldo goal in extra time despite playing most of the final 20 minutes of the match with nine men. Thereafter, their form took a notable dip as they squandered an advantage to lose their opening league match of the campaign to Al Ittifaq and went on to suffer a loss in their first home game against Al Taawoun a week later. Since then, though, the hosts seem to have refound their rhythm as they secured qualification for the AFC Champions League with a win over Shabab Al-Ahli in the playoff round and battered Al Fateh on the road last week. Luis Castro 's side won the last league encounter against this opponent last season at this venue and are unbeaten in their last four meetings with two wins and two draws, dating back to November Al-Nassr ended last season five points behind Al Ittihad and are already six points behind them this term, and the boss will know that his side cannot afford to drop any more points, or they will be faced with a huge mountain to climb early in the season. Meanwhile, Al Shabab had another good season last term, posting their second consecutive fourth-placed finish, and they will be desperate to find a way to return to the AFC Champions League qualification places this season. While under the guidance of Vicente Moreno , the hosts managed 56 points in their 30 matches last season W17 D5 L8 , though they ended the term poorly, suffering four defeats in their final five matches. Unfortunately for new boss Marcel Keizer , that form seems to have continued this season as he is yet to record a win for his new club following draws to Al Okhdood and Damak and a loss to Al Wehda in his first three matches in charge. They now have to go up against an Al-Nassr side that are starting to look very dangerous this season, but if they manage to pull off an upset here, it could be exactly what they need to get their season on track.

Al-nassr vs al-shabab fc lineups

Both teams are looking to start their campaign with a win, and the lineups will be crucial in determining the outcome of the match. Both teams are eager to kickstart their campaign with a victory. Al-Shabab FC will be without the injured Carlos Eduardo for the match, but they still have a strong lineup. The starting lineup for Al-Shabab FC is as follows:. Despite the absence of Carlos Eduardo, Al-Shabab FC boasts a solid defensive line and a midfield that possesses both creativity and experience. Gustavo Cuellar will be leading the attack, aiming to make an impact and secure a victory for his team. However, they still have a talented squad.

Shroud 2017 crosshair

Cookies Policy. Croatian 1. Considering that the Knights of Najd have dominated their fixtures lately, we predict a victory with CR7 among the goals. Corrections Policy. Al-Hilal Al-Hilal. Man United. However, just like the Knights of Najd, they too will not be able to count on their first-choice goalkeeper, Kim Seung-gyu, who is out for the season with an ACL tear. Adithya is a Soccer Writer at EssentiallySports. Joshua vows 'to entertain' in Ngannou fight. Daniel D'Cruz. To finish the season on a high note, Al Shabab will have to step up their game in the second half of the season. GDPR Compliance. Al Wahda Al Wahda. Tiger Woods withdraws from Genesis Invitational.

.

However, just like the Knights of Najd, they too will not be able to count on their first-choice goalkeeper, Kim Seung-gyu, who is out for the season with an ACL tear. Game to end in draw Tiger Woods withdraws from Genesis Invitational. In contrast, Al Nassr are on an unbeaten run of three matches and have performed well over the last few weeks. Preview: Ireland vs. Orlando City - prediction, team news, lineups. Let us know your predictions in the comments below. Ethics Policy. Al Nassr have put on three very impressive performances since returning from the international break and are the clear favourites to bag the points in this match. However, they now face an Al Nassr side that cruised to a win in the reverse fixture back in August, which marked their fourth consecutive match without victory against the Knights of Najd W0 D1 L3.