Al-Awwal Park will host Saudi Pro League action for the final time in the 2024-25 season on Wednesday afternoon when Al-Nassr take on mid-table opposition Al Khaleej.
The hosts will enter the penultimate matchday of the season in fourth place with 64 points after 32 games, while the visitors are 10th with 37 points over the same period.
Match preview
© Imago
Al-Nassr have endured a tough season in the Saudi Pro League, and with two games remaining, they can only finish with a maximum of 70 points - 12 fewer than last season when they ended the campaign as runners-up.
After a thumping 9-0 victory over 10-man Al Okhdood last Monday, the Knights of Najd were held to a frustrating draw by Al Taawoun over the weekend, when they were missing their talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, due to an illness.
That result saw Al-Alami forced out of third place in the league standings and also confirmed that they will not feature in the AFC Champions League Elite next season, now seven points behind second-placed Al-Hilal with six points left to play for.
Additionally, Stefano Pioli's are in danger of missing out on continental football next term altogether, as they have to finish third and need Al-Ittihad to beat Al-Qadsiah in the King's Cup final later in the month to qualify for the AFC Champions League Two.
Al-Nassr have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five league matches, but they are still a difficult team to beat at home, having only lost two of their last 10 league games at Al-Awwal Park, while scoring two or more goals in all but one match during that period.
© Imago
Meanwhile, Al Khaleej are set for another solid mid-table finish, now on the same number of points as they ended on last term, though they do still have two games to improve that with Al Okhdood to come on the final day.
Last weekend, the Pearls picked up a much-needed 2-1 comeback win over Al Orubah on the road, with Kostas Fortounis netting a brace after Ismael Kandouss's opener, taking his tally to seven goals for the season.
That victory brought an end to Georgios Donis's side's five-match winless run, which included four defeats, though it was still only the second win they have managed in 15 games, dating back to the end of January.
Notably, though, the visitors have fared better on the road than at home this season, earning 21 of their 37 points on their travels, while their only away defeats since the start of March were against Al-Hilal and Al Ettifaq.
Team News
© Imago
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been linked with a move to rivals Al-Hilal at the end of this season, has now missed the last two games for Al-Nassr due to illness, and he remains a doubt for this match.
If the Portuguese superstar is unable to feature this week, Jhon Duran will likely continue to lead the line for Al-Alami, alongside Sadio Mane, Ayman Yahya and Otavio operating in the number 10 role.
Al Khaleej have two defensive absences for this match, with their first-choice shot-stopper Ibrahim Sehic and centre-back Marcel Tisserand both ruled out for the remainder of the season through injury.
Fortounis has now registered 12 goal contributions in 29 games after bagging his brace last week, but he was also shown his fourth yellow card of the season in that match and will miss the final game of the season if he is cautioned again this week.
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Bento; Al Ghanam, Alawjami, Al-Fatil, Boushal; Brozovic, Al Sulaiheem; Yahya, Otavio, Mane; Duran
Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:
Raed; Hamsal, Fahad, Al-Khabrani, Rebocho,; Hamzi, Kourbelis; Murg, Fortunis, Saleh; Al Salem
We say: Al-Nassr 2-1 Al Khaleej
While Al-Nassr have not been great during the run-in and are likely to be without Ronaldo again this week, they are still a very tough team to beat on home soil, and we feel they will be able to take all three points from this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
