Al-Nassr and Al-Najma have confirmed their starting teams for their meeting at the King Saud University Stadium in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo starts for the leaders, returning for the first time in four matches after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner suffered a hamstring injury.
The issue also caused the Portugal captain to miss his country’s games during the March international break.
101GreatGoals.com has the team news and starting line-ups as Al-Nassr host Al-Najma in the Saudi Pro League.
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Al Nassr confirmed team vs Al Najma
Goalkeeper Mubarak Al-Buainain (knee) is injured for Al-Nassr, as are defender Inigo Martinez and winger Kingsley Coman with hamstring problems.
Centre-back Mohamed Simakan (quad) and midfielder Sami Al-Najei (knee) are also sidelined.
Forward Joao Felix, who has 15 goals and 11 assists in the league this season, is suspended.
Al-Nassr starting XI: David Ospina, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Aymeric Laporte, Alex Telles, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Ali Al-Hassan, Ayman Yahya, Marcelo Brozovic, Sadio Mane, Cristiano Ronaldo
Al-Nassr substitutes: Raghed Al-Najjar, Ali Lajami, Mohammed Al-Fatil, Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Qassem, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem, Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa, Waleed Hibah, Meshari Al-Nemer
Al Najma full line up vs Al Nassr
Left-back Mohammed Al-Kunaydiri will miss the rest of Al-Najma’s season with a knee injury.
Al-Najma won automatic promotion from the First Division last season but are 14 points from safety, having appointed Serbian-British coach Nestor El Maestro in February in an attempt to escape relegation.
Al-Najma starting XI: To follow
Al-Najma substitutes: To follow
Where to watch Al Nassr vs Al Najma: TV channel, live online streams
The match kicks off at 19:00 GMT (14:00 ET / 11:00 PT) on Friday. In the UK, the Saudi top-flight broadcast channel is the Saudi Pro League YouTube channel.
In the US, FOX Sports are the Saudi Pro League live broadcasters.
Al Nassr vs Al Najma stats
- This is the second-ever meeting between the teams. Al-Nassr recorded the largest win of their season when they visited Al-Najma on February 25, winning 5-0 through goals by Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Coman, Martinez and Ali Al-Hassan
- Al-Nassr have kept a clean sheet in 11 of their last 12 games in all competitions and have not conceded in any of their last four home league matches, spanning more than seven hours of football across those games
- One of Al-Nassr’s three league defeats this season has been at home
- Ronaldo’s most recent appearance for Al-Nassr, in a 3-1 win at Al-Fayha, was the first time in five league appearances that the 41-year-old did not score, contributing five goals and one assist across his previous four such games
- Sadio Mane is aiming to score in a third straight outing for Al-Nassr
- Al-Najma have spent the entire season at the foot of the table but were inspired to their first win of the campaign by El Maestro on February 14, beating Al-Kholood 2-1 at home through goals by Felippe and former Marseille winger Bilal Boutobba
- Across five consecutive defeats since then, they have never scored more than once in a game and lost by an aggregate of 19-3
- That victory over Al-Kholood is the only occasion on which Al-Najma have scored more than once in their last 13 matches, failing to net on five occasions during that sequence
- Only second-bottom Al-Akhdoud (22) have scored fewer goals in this season’s top flight than Al-Najma (23)
- Their total of 61 goals conceded is the worst in the division. Al-Akhdoud have let in 57, with no other teams shipping more than 49 before Friday’s fixtures
- Two of Al-Najma’s eight points have come away from home
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
