Two sides at opposite ends of the Saudi Arabia Professional League go head to head on Tuesday as Abha play host to Al-Nassr at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium.
While the Leaders of the South will be looking to make it three home wins on the bounce and move out of the relegation zone, the visitors will be seeking to move within nine points of league leaders Al-Hilal and keep their slim title hopes alive.
Match preview
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Abha suffered a fresh blow in their battle at the bottom end of the table as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Riyadh when the sides squared off at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Saturday.
Guinea international Francois Kamano opened his account for the season when he struck in the 26th minute to put the visitors in front before Saleh Al Abbas restored parity with a 70th-minute strike.
With that result, the Leaders of the South have now failed to win 12 of their last 14 matches across all competitions since November — losing nine and claiming three draws — a run which has seen them fall into the relegation picture.
Abha's two wins in that time have come in their last two home games as they edged out Al-Tai on March 1 to snap their 10-game winless run, exactly two weeks before claiming a 1-0 victory over 10-man Al-Wehda.
With 22 points from 25 matches, Pitso Mosimane's side are currently bottom but one in the Pro League standings, level on points with 16th-placed Al-Tai and two points adrift of 15th-placed Al-Okhdood just above the relegation zone.
While Abha will be looking to return to winning ways and pull clear of the danger zone, next up is the stern challenge of taking on a rampant Al-Nassr side who are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 encounters, claiming seven wins and two draws since November 2019.
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Luis Castro's men turned in a performance of the highest quality at the weekend when they cruised to a 5-1 victory over 10-man Al-Tai when the sides squared off at the Al-Awwal Stadium.
Otavio and Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored on either side of Virgil Misidjan's 22nd-minute equaliser to hand the hosts a first-half lead before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a sensational second-half hat-trick to cap off a brilliant individual display.
Prior to that, Al-Nassr snapped their run of three back-to-back defeats across all competitions with a much-needed 1-0 win over Al-Ahli on March 15 thanks to a second-half penalty from Ronaldo.
The Global One have now picked up 19 wins in their 25 Pro League games while losing four and claiming two draws to collect 59 points and sit second in the table, 11 points adrift of first-placed Al-Hilal.
Al-Nassr follow Tuesday's game with a clash against Damac on April 5, three days before visiting the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium to take on Al-Hilal in a highly-anticipated Super Cup semi-final tie.
Team News
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Defender Fahad Bin Jumayah was forced off with a second-half injury against Al-Wehda at the weekend and the former Al-Nassr man is a doubt for Tuesday's game.
Should he fail to shake off the injury, 32-year-old Saleh Al Qumayzi could come into the fold, forming the back four with Fabian Noguera, Marcel Tisserand and Al-Ahli loanee Saleh Al Qumayzi.
As for Al-Nassr, Castro will be unable to name Brazilian forward Talisca, who has been sidelined since coming off with a severe muscle injury against Al Hazem on February 29.
He is joined on the Global One's injury table by goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah, who has missed each of the last five matches due to a leg injury.
With his hat-trick at the weekend, Ronaldo now has 26 goals and nine assists in 23 Pro League matches this season and the 39-year-old should lead the line for Al-Nassr once again.
Abha possible starting lineup:
Tatarusanu; Al-Qumayzi, Noguera, Tisserand, Al-Qumayzi; Mutairi, Al-Sahafi, Al-Qahtani, Kamano; Al-Ali, Krychowiak
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Ahmed, Lajami, Al-Fatil, Telles; Otavio, Brozovic; Mane, Al-Najei, Ghareeb; Ronaldo
We say: Abha 1-3 Al-Nassr
Looking at recent results between Abha and Al-Nassr, we anticipate a one-sided affair at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium. We expect Al-Nassr to come away with a comfortable victory as they must avoid any further slip-ups in their late push for the title.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
