Al Ahli will host Al Nassr at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, March 15. Read more below to find out everything you need to know about this game!
Al Ahli vs Al Nassr: Betting odds
Let's start with what bookies expect from this game: all odds are provided by our betting partners Megapari.
Al Ahli - 2.65
Draw - 3.72
Al Nassr - 2.39
Al Ahli: Current form and team news
Against Al Fateh, Al Ahli surprisingly dropped points at home but they bounced back against Al Taawun beating them 1-0. Now, Al Ahli are third in the table but thanks to their results and Al Nassr's struggles, the gap between them and their Friday opponents has reduced to six points.
This makes the upcoming game extremely important for both sides. While it looks hardly possible to dethrone top-placed Al Hilal, the battle for the second spot in the table keeps raging on.
Roger Ibanez will be available for the game after his suspension ended. However, Gabriel Veiga will miss the clash due to health concerns.
Al Nassr: Current form and team news
Cristiano Ronaldo & Co are in trouble. Just when the season came up to the home stretch, they started dropping points. First, Al Nassr drew 4-4 with Al Hazm, and then they lost 1-3 against Al Raed. To give you the bigger picture, both teams are from the bottom part of the league table.
Anyway, due to those upsets, Al Nassr are now trailing league leaders Al Hilal by 13 points.
What happened to Al Nassr in the Asian Champions League was even more disappointing. In the first leg against Al Ayn from the United Arab Emirates, Al Nassr lost 0-1. In the second game, they conceded two goals but managed to bounce back and take the game to the penalties.
And that was the moment when Al Nassr's big stars failed big time. Brozovic, Otavio and Telles failed to convert from the spot and Al Ayn won 3-1 on penalties.
Now Al Nassr can only fight for the domestic cup and try to keep the second place in the league.
Al Ahli vs Al Nassr: Facts to know
Al Nassr have won only one game out of their last four fixtures in all competitions. One of them was the above-mentioned clash with Al Ayn, which Al Nassr eventually lost on penalties.
Al Ahli have been unbeaten at home for 11 consecutive games: seven wins and four draws.
In four out of their last five home games, Al Ahli kept a clean sheet.
Al Ahli vs Al Nassr: Head-to-head
Out of 47 games between the sides, Al Nassr have won 18 while Al Ahli had the upper hand on 17 occasions. Twelve more games were draws.
However, if you take recent seasons only, Al Nassr's domination will be obvious: five wins and one draw out of seven games.
Al Ahli vs Al Nassr: Prediction and betting tip
Al Ahli have been prioritising defense over attack in their recent games but the upcoming fixture is going to be different: the hosts need to close the gap between themselves and Al Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo's team will be longing to give their fans something to cheer about, finally.
In the first half of the season, the sides scored 7 goals within 90 minutes and it makes sense to expect something of the kind this time.
Our betting tip: Goals total over 3.5 (Megapari odds – 2.30)
