Al-Nassr return to action in the AFC Champions League when they go head to head with Iranian outfit Esteghlal at the Al-Rashid Stadium on Tuesday.
The most recent meeting between the two teams came in this competition back in May 2011, when Farhad Majidi and Hawar Mulla Mohammed scored second-half goals to hand the Capital Blues a 2-1 comeback victory in Group B.
Match preview
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Esteghlal were sent back down to earth in the new Iranian Pro League campaign as they suffered a 3-0 hammering against of Zob Ahan when the two sides met at the Shahre Qods Stadium on Friday.
Following a relatively uneventful first half, Majid Aliyari turned in an impressive individual display as he scored either side of Omid Latifi's 70th-minute strike to inspire Zob Ahan to a comfortable victory and leave the Capital Blues empty handed.
Prior to that, Esteghlal snapped their run of four consecutive league games without a win on October 5, when they edged out Havadar 2-1 courtesy of first-half goals from Raphael Silva and Mehrdad Mohammadi.
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh's men, who are 11th in the Pro League table with eight points from their opening seven games, now turn their focus to the AFC Champions League, where they have split the results in their opening two games in the West.
Esteghlal kicked off the 2024-25 Champions League campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Al-Gharafa on September 16, two weeks before falling to a 2-0 defeat versus Al-Sadd in the second of two consecutive clashes against Qatar-based sides.
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Al-Nassr, on the other hand, continued their push to the top of the Saudi Pro League standings as they picked up a 2-1 victory over Al-Shabab at the Al-Shabab Club Stadium.
Ali Al-Hassan scored an own goal in the 90th minute to cancel out Aymeric Laporte's 69th-minute opener, and after Cristiano Ronaldo kept his cool to convert his 97th-minute penalty and put the visitors in front for the second time in the game, Al-Shabab man Abderrazak Hamdallah failed to score from the opposite penalty spot in the 13th minute of stoppage time.
Al-Nassr have now picked up six wins on the bounce across all competitions, including a 2-1 victory over Al Hazem in the King's Cup round of 32 on September 23, and are unbeaten in 10 straight games, claiming seven wins and three draws since a 4-1 defeat against Al-Hilal in the Super Cup on August 17.
The Global One, who currently sit in third place and are four points shy of top spot in the Pro League standings, now return to action in the Championship League, where they have picked up four points from their opening two matches.
After playing out a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw with Al-Shorta in their group opener on September 16, goals from Sadio Mane and Ronaldo saw Al-Nassr pick up maximum points two weeks later as they edged out Al-Rayyan 2-1 at the Al-Awwal Park.
Next up for Stefano Pioli's men is the challenge of an opposing side that they met in the Champions League back in 2011, when the two teams split the results in their two encounters in Group B.
Al-Nassr fought back from behind to secure a 2-1 home victory in their first clash on March 15 thanks to goals from Hussain Abdul Ghani and Abdulrahman Al Qahtani, two months before losing 2-1 in the return fixture.
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Team News
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Esteghlal will take to the pitch without the duo of Mehdi Mehdipour and defender Abolfazl Jalali, who have been ruled out through cruciate ligament and hamstring injuries respectively.
Imam Salimi has been out of action since coming off injured in September's clash against Al-Sadd and will play no part in Tuesday's clash while Roozbeh Cheshmi is currently recuperating from a tibia and fibula injury.
With his winner against Al-Shabab on Friday, Ronaldo netted his 907th career goal and his 12th for club and country in 14 games this season, and the 39-year-old will aim to deliver the goods once again.
He should be joined in the Al-Nassr attack by Anderson Talisca, Angelo and former Liverpool forward Mane, while we should see a back four of Salem Alnajdi, Laporte, Mohamed Simakan, Nawaf Boushal.
On the injury front, Pioli will be unable to call upon the services of 27-year-old Sami Al-Najei, who is set for an extended period on the sidelines after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in August.
Esteghlal possible starting lineup:
Khaledabadi; Moradmand, Silva, Fallah: Rezaeian, Kakuta, N'Dong, Zakipour; Eslami, Mohammadi, Blanco
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Salem Alnajdi, Laporte, Sikiman, Boushal; Brozovic, Alkhaibari; Mane, Talisca, Angelo; Ronaldo
We say: Esteghlal 1-3 Al-Nassr
While Esteghlal will be looking to find their feet on Tuesday and get their Champions League campaign up and running, they have their work cut out against a high-flying Al-Nassr side who will be looking to move top of the table in the West.
Pioli's men are currently firing on all cylinders, and with Ronaldo showing no signs of slowing down, we are backing them to come away with all three points at the Al-Rashid Stadium.
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Joshua Ojele
