Al-Nassr vs. Al Okhdood: Saudi Pro League Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Thursday night, Al-Nassr will face Al Okhdood at Al-Awwal Park in the Saudi Pro League, returning to activity after the month-long December vacation.

The hosts' dismal finish to 2024 saw them down to fourth place in the league, while the away team rescued themselves from relegation with a last-game win.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

With losses to Al-Qadsiah and championship contenders Al Ittihad in their previous three games before the league break last month, Al-Nassr will be seeking a strong start to 2025.

Karim Benzema scored first for the People's Club against their PIF-owned opponents. Cristiano Ronaldo equalized for Al-Alami two minutes later, but Steven Bergwijn scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time.

With those strikes, the former Real Madrid strikers extended their league goal tally to ten for the season, putting them two goals behind Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al-Hilal, who is now in first place in the Golden Boot competition.

As a consequence of their loss against Al Saad on the sixth matchday of the AFC Champions League Elite, the Blue Waves moved up to third position in Group B, while the Knights of Najd's lead over them in the league standings widened to eleven points.

But it's no surprise that Stefano Pioli's squad is heavily favored to return to winning this week. They won three straight games against their next opponents last season, and they also did it on the road.

On the other hand, Al Okhdood avoided relegation last season and will likely be fighting for a spot at the bottom of the league again this term unless they make significant improvements in the next year.

Despite starting the season with only 12 points in 13 games, the Najran-based side beat fellow relegation aspirants Al Wehda 3-2 on the last day of 2024 to gain a three-point lead.

Stjepan Tomas's squad has struggled to maintain consistency since being promoted to the first level; they have never won consecutive league games.

On the bright side, the away team has performed better than their home team in recent months, collecting seven points from a possible twelve (W2 D1 L1).

Al-Nassr x Al Okhdood Team News

Abdullah Al-Khaibari, a key player for Al-Nassr, tore a muscle while playing for the national team, which might sideline him for as much as a month.

This week, Al-Khaibari will be out with a cruciate ligament injury, Ayman Yahya with a leg injury, and Ronaldo with an abdominal ailment, all of whom have been out for extended periods.

On the other side, Ibrahima Kone and Cameroon international Christian Bassogog should continue to spearhead the attack for the visitors. Bassogog had a fantastic year-end, scoring three goals in his five appearances.

Considering Al Okhdood's strong performance last time out, it would not be shocking if Tomas started with the same eleven for this week's trip to Riyadh. The team is fit.

Our Predictions

Al-Nassr to win to nil @ 2.09 on Sky247.ng. 

Even though Al-Nassr may be without their captain and talisman this weekend, they still have enough weapons on hand thus we still think they'll easily win this match.

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