Al Okhdood and Al Nassr bring round 31 of the Saudi Professional League to an end when they lock horns at the Prince Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Sports City on Monday. Having lost the last three meetings between the two teams, Paulo Sergio’s men will head into the weekend looking to get one over the visitors and rekindle their quest for survival.
Al Okhdood were sent crashing back to earth in their push to beat the drop as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Al Wehda last time out.
Before that, Sergio’s side were on a five-game unbeaten run in the league, claiming three wins and two draws while scoring five goals and keeping two clean sheets.
Al Okhdood have picked up 28 points from their 30 Professional League games so far to sit 17th in the standings, four points away from safety with four games to go.
Meanwhile, three seasons into the Cristiano Ronaldo project, Al-Nassr will most likely have nothing to show for it once again as they find themselves 11 points off top spot in the league table heading into the final four matches.
While Stefano Pioli’s men looked intent on clinching their first piece of silverware since 2021 in the AFC Champions Cup, their dreams came to an end in the semi-finals as they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Kawasaki Frontale on April 30.
Al Nassr head into Monday’s clash off the back of a 3-2 loss against Al Ittihad, their sixth league defeat of the season, after giving up a two-goal lead in a second-half collapse.
While it has been a disappointing end to the season for Al Nassr, they will be backing themselves to bounce back against an Al Okhdood side who have lost their previous three clashes.
Given the gulf in quality and experience between the two teams, we predict Pioli’s men will see off the hosts and extend their dominance in this fixture.
Prediction: Al Okhdood 1-3 Al Nassr
Tip 1: Result - Al Nassr to win
Tip 2: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have scored in Al Nassr’s last eight matches)
Tip 3: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have also been three or more goals scored in the visitors’ last 10 games)