Al-Nassrvs.Al Wahda

The hosts will kick off gameweek five of the season with eight points after the first four games, while the visitors are down in 14th place with four points over the same period.

Match preview

Al-Nassr have made a decent start to the new league season, picking up two wins and two draws, but owing to Al-Hilal's flawless record, the Knights of Najd are already trailing the Blue Waves by four points.

Al Alami dropped points on the opening day of the season to Al Raed and then again on matchday three against Al Ahli, drawing both games 1-1, while they beat Al Fayha and Al Ettifaq by three-goal margins in their other two matches to date.

Stefano Pioli, who replaced Luis Castro as Nassr's head coach last week, has now notched up consecutive victories in his first two games in charge, including a King's Cup round of 32 away triumph over Al Hazem on Monday night.

Sadio Mane opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime for his side in the last match and Nawaf Al-Boushal netted a dramatic winner in stoppage time after Basil Al Sayyali levelled proceedings at the hour mark.

That result marked Al-Nassr's third consecutive unbeaten away result, and they will now need to find the same type of form at Al Awal Park, where they are still in search of their first victory this season.

Meanwhile, Al Wahda also booked their spot in the last 16 of the King's Cup this week, but needed penalties to do so after playing out a 1-1 draw in regulation time against Al Faisaly.

The result meant that Fursan Mecca managed to avoid a third consecutive defeat following a 1-0 loss to Al Kholood and a 7-1 thumping at the hands of Al Ittihad directly after returning from the international break.

The latter defeat was the only away league game Josef Zinnbauer has taken charge of since joining the club, though he did oversee two pre-season friendlies on the road, both of which ended in draws.

Under the guidance of Georgios Donis last season, Al Wahda posted the fourth-worst away tally in the division, managing just 14 points in 17 games, with a record of four wins, two draws and 11 losses.

Unfortunately for the new boss, history suggests that his side are likely to struggle in this one as well, having lost 6-0 to Al-Nassr in their last meeting and failing to beat the Knights of Najd in their last seven attempts, six of which ended in defeat.

Al-Nassr Saudi Pro League form:

Al-Nassr form (all competitions):

D

L

D

W

D

W

Al Wahda Saudi Pro League form:

Al Wahda form (all competitions):

L

D

D

W

L

L

Team News

Pioli opted to rest club captain Cristiano Ronaldo for the King's Cup victory over Al Hazem at the start of the week, but the Portuguese superstar is expected to return to the starting 11 for this match.

Mane opened his account for the season and will likely form part of the trio of attacking midfielders, alongside joint top-scorer Talisca and Brazilian youngster Angelo, who arrived from Chelsea over the summer.

For the visitors, centre-back Abdullah Al-Hafith was withdrawn in the 39th minute in midweek with a knock and has been flagged as a major doubt for the trip to Riyadh on Friday.

Craig Goodwin and Odion Ighalo both came off the bench against Al Faisaly and should be brought in from the start here to lead the attack, while Bandar Darwish will not feature owing to suspension.

Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:

Bento; Al Ghanam, Simakan, Laporte, Al-Najdi; Al-Khaibari, Otavio; Angelo, Talisca, Mane; Ronaldo

Al Wahda possible starting lineup:

De Arruabarrena; Al Mowalad, Al-Hafith, Yamiq, Bakshween; Cretu, Al Makahasi; Amyn, Al-Najei, Goodwin; Ighalo

We say: Al-Nassr 3-1 Al Wahda

While Al-Nassr have not been in full flight this season, their record in this fixture is difficult to ignore, and given their star-studded lineup, we feel the Knights of Najd will secure a fairly straightforward victory in this one.

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