Al-Nassr and Al-Najma have confirmed their starting teams for Friday’s match at the King Saud University Stadium of the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo starts for the leaders and returns for the first time in four games after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner suffered a hamstring injury.
The problem also caused the Portugal captain to miss his country’s matches during the international break in March.
101GreatGoals.com has the team news and starting lineups as Al-Nassr hosts Al-Najma in the Saudi Pro League.
Al Nassr team confirmed vs Al Najma
Goalkeeper Mubarak Al-Buainain (knee) is injured by Al-Nassr, as are defender Íñigo Martínez and winger Kingsley Coman with hamstring problems.
Midfielder Sami Al-Najei (knee) is also out.
Striker Joao Félix, who has 15 goals and 11 assists in the League this season, is suspended.
Al-Nassr’s starting lineup: Bento Matheus, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Mohamed Simakan, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Saad Al-Nasser, Marcelo Brozovic, Angelo Gabriel, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Sadio Mane, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Cristiano Ronaldo
Al-Nassr Substitutes: Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Nader Al-Sharari, Nawaf Boushal, Salem Al-Najdi, Rakan Al-Ghamdi, Hayder Abdulkareem, Ali Al-Hassan, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Mohammed Marran
Al Najma full lineup vs Al Nassr
Left back Mohammed Al-Kunaydiri will miss the rest of Al-Najma’s season with a knee injury.
Al-Najma won automatic promotion from the First Division last season but are 14 points from safety, having appointed Serbian-British coach Néstor El Maestro in February in a bid to escape relegation.
Al-Najma starting lineup: Victor Braga, Vitor Vargas, Samir Caetano, Nasser Al-Haleel, Majed Dawran, Rakan Al-Tulayhi, Abdullah Hawsawi, David Tijanic, Felippe Cardoso, Nabil Emad, Mohammed Al-Aqal
Al-Najma substitutes: Walid Al-Enezi, Guga Rodrigues, Mohammed Mansour, Abdulaziz Al-Harabi, Khalid Al-Soubaiy, Mohammed Al-Fatil, Sultan Al-Essa, Majed Sharahi, Hisham Al-Dubais
Where to watch Al Nassr vs Al Najma: TV channel, live streams online
The match starts at 19:00 GMT (14:00 ET / 11:00 PT) on Friday. In the UK, the top-tier Saudi broadcast channel is the Saudi Pro League YouTube Channel.
In the United States, FOX Sports is the live broadcaster of the Saudi Pro League.
Al Nassr vs Al Najma Stats
- This is the second meeting between the teams. Al-Nassr recorded the biggest win of their season when they visited Al-Najma on February 25, winning 5-0 with goals from Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Coman, Martínez and Ali Al-Hassan.
- Al-Nassr have kept a clean sheet in 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions and have not conceded a goal in any of their last four home league games, across more than seven hours of football in those matches.
- One of Al-Nassr’s three league defeats this season has been at home
- Ronaldo’s most recent appearance for Al-Nassr, in a 3-1 win at Al-Fayha, was the first time in five league games that the 41-year-old did not score, contributing five goals and one assist in his previous four matches.
- Sadio Mane aims to score in a third consecutive outing for Al-Nassr
- Al-Najma have spent the entire season at the bottom of the table, but El Maestro inspired them to their first win of the campaign on 14 February, beating Al-Kholood 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Felippe and former Marseille winger Bilal Boutobba.
- In five consecutive defeats since then, they have never scored more than one goal in a game and lost 19-3 on aggregate.
- That victory over Al-Kholood is the only time Al-Najma scored more than one goal in their last 13 games, failing five times during that sequence.
- Only penultimate Al-Akhdoud (22) has scored fewer goals this season. top flight that Al-Najma (23)
- Their total of 61 goals conceded is the worst in the division. Al-Akhdoud has conceded 57, and no other team has conceded more than 49 entering Friday’s game.
- Two of Al-Najma’s eight points have come away from home
