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Saudi Pro League | Gameweek 17
Dec 26, 2023 at 6pm UK
King Abdul Aziz Stadium
Al-Nassr

Al Ittihad
2 - 5
Al-Nassr

Hamdallah (14', 51')
Al-Ghamdi (28'), Kante (40'), Hamdallah (47'), Fabinho (60')
Fabinho (66')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Ronaldo (19' pen., 68' pen.), Talisca (38'), Mane (75', 82')
Castro (29'), Fofana (30'), Telles (45+11'), Laporte (47'), Alawjami (70')

Preview: Al Ittihad vs. Al-Nassr - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Saudi Pro League clash between Al Ittihad and Al-Nassr, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

In their final domestic home fixture of 2023, Al Ittihad host Al-Nassr for a Boxing Day affair on Tuesday at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.

The reigning Saudi Pro League champions are down to sixth in the table, losing 3-1 to Al-Raed over the weekend, while Al-Alami are second following a 3-1 victory over Al-Ettifaq.


Match preview

Al Ittihad's Karim Benzema celebrates scoring their third goal on December 12, 2023© Reuters

A lack of discipline cost Al Ittihad again on Saturday, as they have now suffered consecutive league defeats for the first time since May 2022 (two).

Saturday was also their first domestic defeat at home this season, and the first time they lost a league fixture in Jeddah since Al-Hilal beat them 3-1 on matchday 27 in 2021-22.

The club from Jeddah have struggled defensively of late, conceding three or more goals in three of their previous four competitive fixtures.

Past the halfway point of the domestic campaign, Al Ittihad find themselves nine points behind Al-Ahli for third and a place in the AFC Champions League Elite next season.

Marcelo Gallardo has just one victory in four Saudi Pro League matches since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo as manager, with the only triumph for the Argentine coming at home at the end of November (4-2 versus Al-Khaleej).

Al Ittihad are unbeaten in their last six competitive games at home versus Al-Nassr, winning the last three domestic home meetings against them by a combined score of 7-1.

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with teammates after winning the Arab Club Champions Cup final on August 12, 2023© Reuters

After beginning this month on a sour note, suffering a 3-0 defeat in the Riyadh Derby versus their bitter-rivals Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr seem to have got their act together, winning two successive domestic fixtures by a combined score of 7-2.

Heading into matchday 18 of their Pro League campaign, Luis Castro's men find themselves 10 points behind Al-Hilal for first in the table but with a game in hand.

With 40 points after 17 domestic encounters, Al-Nassr are two points behind where they were at this same stage a season ago, losing two more games in 2023-24 (three) than they did after 17 domestic contests in 2022-23.

While they possess one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of world football, Castro has got contributions from plenty of sources, with 11 different players finding the back of the net at least once in this competition, two of which have reached double-digits.

Al-Nassr have been held off the scoresheet in only two domestic encounters all season, averaging over 2.5 goals per game to this point of the campaign.

Two of their three defeats in this competition have occurred away from home, while they are winless in their last nine matches in all competitions versus the club from Jeddah.

Al Ittihad Saudi Pro League form:


Al Ittihad form (all competitions):


Al-Nassr Saudi Pro League form:


Al-Nassr form (all competitions):



Team News

Al Ittihad coach Marcelo Gallardo reacts on December 12, 2023© Reuters

Al Ittihad will be without Madallah Al-Olayan on Tuesday after he was sent off in the 12th minute this past weekend, while Omar Hawsawi and Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti were both out with unknown injuries.

Goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Jadaani is not expected to recover from a cruciate ligament tear until late January, meaning Abdullah Al-Mayouf will likely start between the sticks for this game.

Romarinho had the only strike in their weekend defeat, his third of the campaign, while Karim Benzema, who has nine goals domestically this season, saw his two-game scoring run in all competitions come to an end.

Al-Nassr goalkeeper David Ospina still needs to be registered, though he featured for the Colombian national team recently against Mexico.

Nawaf Boushal was absent in their victory over Al-Ettifaq, and Khalid Al-Ghannam was back on the field after missing time earlier this season because of physical discomfort.

Alex Telles returned from a muscle injury, scoring the opening goal on Friday, Marcelo Brozovic notched his first of the domestic campaign and Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his 17th, moving ahead of Aleksandar Mitrovic for first in the league.

Talisca is the other Al-Nassr player that has reached the double-digit mark for goals in this competition (10), though he has failed to score in five of their last six domestic affairs.

Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Al-Mayouf; Al-Sahafi, Felipe, Fabinho, Bamsaud; Kante, Al-Farhan; Romarinho, Al-Ghamdi, Al-Amri; Benzema

Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Al-Aqidi; Al-Ghannam, Lajami, Laporte, Telles; Brozovic, Fofana; Talisca, Al-Najei, Mane; Ronaldo


SM words green background

We say: Al Ittihad 2-2 Al-Nassr

There is a plethora of attacking quality on both sides, and while Al-Nassr are the team in better form, Al Ittihad always seem to be at their best at home against the side from Riyadh.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Al Ittihad vs Al-Nassr

Al Ittihad
18.8%
Draw
20.3%
Al-Nassr
60.9%
64
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Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with teammates after winning the Arab Club Champions Cup final on August 12, 2023
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Al-HilalAl-Hilal1191129111828
2Al Ittihad109012481627
3Al-Nassr1164122101222
4Al ShababAl Shabab11713157822
5Al Quadisiya11713158722
6Al Khaleej116141514119
7Al-AhliAl-Ahli11524159617
8Al-TaawounAl-Taawoun114341110115
9Al RaedAl Raed114251616014
10Al Riyadh104241315-214
11Damac103251618-211
12Al Ettifaq10325915-611
13Al Orubah113171024-1410
14Al Okhdood112361215-39
15Al WahdaAl Wahda112361527-129
16Al Kholood101451219-77
17Al Fayha11146720-137
18Al Fateh10127818-105


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