On Saturday, Al-Raed will face Al-Nassr in the sixth round of the 2023 Saudi Pro League season at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
When Al-Raed takes on in-form Al-Nassr this weekend, they will be hoping to make it back-to-back home wins for the first time this season.
The hosts were denied successive wins before the international break when they were held to a goalless draw by Al-Fayha earlier this month at the King Salman Sport City Stadium. On the day, Igor Jovicevic’s men lacked precision in front of goal and were unable to trouble the opposing defenders before settling for a point.
Prior to that, the Buraidah-based team was able to snap a three-game losing streak by defeating Al-Riyadh 3-0 thanks to a first-half double from Mohamed Fouzair, with Amir Sayoud scoring in the 68th minute to complete off a strong team performance. They are 14th, two points above the relegation zone, but they face a difficult battle against Al-Nassr.
After a stuttering start to the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season, last year’s runners-up have rebounded in spectacular fashion as they won their next three games in a row to finally kick-start their season.
The Knights of Najd first hammered Al Fateh 5-0 on matchday three and followed up with a 4-0 thrashing of Al-Shabab. Before heading into the international break, they crushed Al-Hazm in a 5-1 demolition job. With nine points in five games, the visitors are sixth in the standings and are the firm favourites to come away with all three points from this one.
Al-Raed manager Igor Jovicevic has reported no fresh injury concerns and could stick to his mostly-used 4-4-2 setup featuring a two-man strike-force up top.
In defence, Oumar Gonzalez will continue to form the back four alongside Bander Whaeshi, Mohammed Al-Dossari, and Khalid Al-Sobeai, with former Atletico Madrid man Andre Moreira in goal.
Former Norwich City midfielder Mathias Normann will likely hold the fort in Al-Raed’s engine room, working in tandem with workhorse Mansour Al-Bishi to thwart Nassr’s dangerous midfield runners.
Al-Raed have largely struggled for goals, with only three strikes from five games. The club’s top scorer last season and so far this term, Mohammed Fouzair, missed the opening three games of the 2023 Saudi Pro League campaign.
He marked his return from injury with a man-of-the-match performance featuring a well-taken brace against Al-Riyadh but was unable to replicate his goal-scoring exploits against Al-Feyha, firing a blank.
El Berkaoui started alongside Amir Sayoud in the attack last time out but could be replaced by Julio Tavares, who will be looking to open his account for the season against Al-Nassr. Summer arrival Firas Al Ghamdi could be handed a starting berth here as well after spending the last game as an unused substitute.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Moreira; Al-Dossari, O. Gonzalez, Whaeshi, Al-Sobaie; Fouzair, Al-Bishi, Normann, Al-Ghamdi; Sayoud, Tavares
Al-Nassr
The visitors will be without veteran goalkeeper David Ospina, who has been out with an injury since January. Other than that, head coach Luis Castro has no new injury concerns for the trip to Al-Raed and might field a full-strength squad in his customary 4-2-3-1 formation.
In front of backup goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi, an unchanged central defensive pairing of Aymeric Laporte and Mohammed Al-Fatil is expected. Ghislain Konan hasn’t made a mistake and might keep his place at left-back ahead of former Manchester United and Sevilla defender Alex Telles, while Al-Ghannam will remain on the opposite side of the defense.
As for the midfield unit, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, and Marcelo Brozovic have proven to be a rock-solid pairing in the double pivot and are unlikely to be dropped anytime soon by Castro.
Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has surged to the top of the table, with six goals coming in just a three-game winning streak for Al Nassr. Clearly, Ronaldo is thriving in a new-look Nassr attack where he no longer carries the goal-scoring burden in totality and is enjoying the release with better attackers around him.
The club-record summer signing from Porto, Otavio has fitted in the playing XI seamlessly in the creative No. 10 role alongside ever-improving teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb, serving as the supply chain for strike-duo Sadio Mane and Ronaldo. Anderson Talisca and Seko Fofana are other attacking midfield options available on the bench that Castro can call upon to impact the game later on.
