Al Riyadh vs. Al-Nassr: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

This week, Al-Nassr will travel to the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium to take on Al Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League. The team hopes to get back on track after a winless streak.

Both teams are looking to avoid going winless for three straight league matches after playing to draws in their most recent top-flight encounters.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After finishing 14th place last year, three points out of playoff contention, Al Riyadh has been among the most improved teams in the Saudi Pro League this year.

Winning this game would put them in a position to finish the weekend in the league's top five, yet they've only played nine games this season, which is half as many victories as they had all of last term.

It is worth mentioning that out of Riyadh's three league losses, two came at the hands of league heavyweights Al-Hilal and Al Ittihad. Al Ittihad's loss came after two tremendous wins over Al-Qadsiah and Al Okhdood.

Nevertheless, new manager Sabri Lamouchi will focus on defensive statistics. His team has conceded 14 goals so far this season, more than any other team in the top half of the league.

Although Al Riyadh has gone winless in its past four meetings against this opponent (W0 1 L3), it did manage to salvage a point in its most recent meeting, a 2-2 draw in May.

Meanwhile, Al-Nassr held rivals Al-Hilal to a 1-1 draw and thrashed Al Ain 5-1 in the AFC Champions League midweek after a poor 1-0 defeat to Al Taawoun in the King's Cup.

With eight goals for the season—six of which have come in the league—Talisca is currently tied with Cristiano Ronaldo for the team lead. He scored both goals in Al-last Amimi's match.

Midweek, the Portuguese superstar scored again, bringing his season total to ten. However, in his past six league appearances, he has failed to score from open play; all three of his goals during that period have come from penalty kicks.

While Stefano Pioli's team is still undefeated this season, they are five points behind second place after nine games, thanks to four draws. This comes after landing in the Middle East in mid-September. Pioli's record in his first six matches as coach is four wins and two draws.

With 20 goals for and just eight goals against, the Knights of Najd are heavy favorites. A victory here would put them in a great position to take on Al-Qadsiah and Damac in their next two home matches after the international break.

Al Riyadh vs. Al-Nassr

Due to Enzo Roco's ongoing rehabilitation from a severe knee injury he suffered at the end of last season, the home team will be without their starting center back for this encounter.

Bernard Mensah will be the team's creative force in the center of the field, while Faiz Selemani, who helped set up both of his team's goals in the previous encounter against Damac, will likely continue to play wing-back.

While Sami Al-Najei is Al-Nassr's lone injured player for now, he will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament.

In addition to CR7 and Sadio Mane, the three-person assault will include Talisca, who has been instrumental to Al-Recent Amiami's success.

Our Predictions

Al Nassr to win and over 2.5 goals @.1.52 on Sky247.ng

Despite Al Riyadh's stellar season, we believe Al-Nassr will ride the wave of confidence they gained from last week's tie with Al-Hilal to a resounding win in this encounter.

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