Al-Nassr vs Al Fayha: Saudi Pro League Match Preview, Prediction, and Key Insights

A match between Al-Nassr and Al-Fayha is one of the best in the Saudi Pro League. It will be played this Friday, 7th February 2025, under Prince Mohammed Bin Salman League. This match at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh would provide Al Nassr with an opportunity to maintain a gap between two top teams of the league, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad. This game should be a won one for Al Fayha in order not to sink further in the standings. Of course, the match is going to be entertaining since big missions lie on each shoulder.

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Good Form Streak of Al-Nassr Keeps on Impressing

Al Nassr come into this game on the trot after a couple of good bounces both at domestic and continental levels. Their last match ended in a win against UAE representatives Al Wasl 4-0 in AFC Champions League in the last encounter. Star attraction Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice, headlining his side to keep perfection in the high-profile group stage campaign. Away from him, Ali Alhassan and Mohammed Al Fatil each net once to seal domination.

Their recent league form is similarly impressive. As though to say Al Nassr regained momentum lost, they scored three successive Saudi Pro League victories beating Al Khaleej 3-1, Al Fateh 3-1, and Al Raed 2-1. Such crucial wins helped them reach third place with 38 points in the standings. Therewith, Al Nassr still stay eight points off league leaders Al Hilal and Al Ittihad, and so they will, therefore be keen to shrink that gap with a win in this match against Al Fayha.

Poor Season for Al Fayha: Testing So Far

On the reverse side, Al Fayha had a pretty indistinctive season so far in the Saudi Pro League. They have had to post some bright moments, but they lie 13th with 18 points, two points above the relegation zone. The best the team has had in terms of recent form is erratic form, finding it hard to string together some good results. In the last two matches, they lost 2-1 to Al Shabab and drew 0-0 against Al Taawoun. That must frustrate the Al Fayha camp, for whom their top-flight mid-table finish seems an Achilles heel.

Away form has been a big disappointment so far this season, with Al Fayha being the third-worst away side in the division, raking in a paltry seven points from their trips so far this season. Without such an improvement in these performances, their travel to Al Nassr stronghold at Al Awwal Park does not hold too many prospects worth getting excited about. Al Fayha has never taken a win against Al Nassr in all five of the matches played among outfits hence forth laying evidence to what hard work one gets for the mere points pulling off these very formidable contingents in this league.

Starting XI: Key Players to Watch Cristiano Ronaldo's Golden Boot Chase Upfront, Cristiano Ronaldo remains very much a cornerstone; he shall play an very important role in this match. The Portuguese striker is phenomenal this season, having topped the Saudi Pro League with 15 top scorers and two ahead of the second best, Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad. He is still fresh from celebrating his 40th birthday just one week ago, and nothing changed from his fitness level and desire to act at the highest level. Of course, he is bound to be of immense benefit in the quest by Al Nassr with his great experience and capability of rising in big matches for this potentially defining victory that could see them close up on the top two.

The other influential player for Al Nassr will be their new signing, Jhon Duran. The Colombian striker made his debut in the Champions League match against Al Wasl and might turn out to be important in being a foil in the attacking circle to Ronaldo. With Duran holding the ball and linking the plays together, he might turn out to be just the right man to allow Ronaldo instinctive finishing at the end of it all.

In form, the man to watch out for Al Fayha will be Nigerian forward Henry Onyekuru. Just coming back into the starting fold after serious injury laid him out for quite a while, he would have to be part of most goals against one of the top backlines in the league. Coupled with Onyekuru, the inclusion of an Algerian wide man, Mohamed Sakala, brought much pace and width into the attack of Al-Fayha. This would have meant both had to be at their best for any hope of an upset that would see Al Fayha in favor.
Tactical Insights: Solid Al-Nassr Attack against Al Fayha's Defense

Under the rein of head coach Stefano Pioli, the Al-Nassr setup promises to be weighted in an agile manner in how attacks would always be emphasized. Headlining some talented names like Ronaldo, Duran, and Mane, the charge in the heart of Al Nassr tries to create play to pull through the tight rear guards of Al Fayha. It's this art of dominating such games with their technically sound midfield, especially in the form of Marcelo Brozovic, that might tilt things in their favor.

While Al Fayha is likely to be compact in shape at the back, probably just sitting with a low block looking to frustrate Al-Nassr. Considering how blunt they have been in front of goal all season, Al Fayha have to be clinical in those few counter-attacking opportunities to capitalize on any slightest mistake in the Al Nassr rearguard. With the likes of Onyekuru and Sakala, capable of breaking at speed, Al Fayha might look to fashion chances on the break and punish Al-Nassr's defense whenever they push forward in numbers.

Al-Nassr vs Al Fayha: Head-to-Head

Looking back at the history of this fixture, Al-Nassr has dominated recent matches against Al Fayha. Of late, Al-Nassr has taken five of the last five matches between the sides, including a 4-1 outcome in the most recent. Overall, Al-Nassr has taken 10 of the 15 matches between the two sides, with Al Fayha coming out on top only once. That just about explains in a stat how different both teams have been in the recent past and thus further cements Al Nassar's position to be considered clear favourites going into this game.

Team News: Injuries and Predicted Line-Ups

Exclude the injured Sami Al Najei, who will take a while to heal, and Aymeric Laporte for personal issues over the last couple of weeks which created a deficiency in the core of the rearguard area, the trio missing times for Al Nassr that have some quality in their side are Ronaldo, Brozovic, and Duran.

For Al Fayha, the injured Rakan Kaabi, who has sat out the last five matches will not feature here either. However, Henry Onyekuru should lead the attack while Mansour Al Beshe may hold onto his place in the starting XI. Their backline has to be at the best to prevent themselves from being overrun by such attacking abilities of Al-Nassr.

Prediction: Al-Nassr 3-0 Al Fayha

Away side to win, with Al-Nassr coming in great form and coming into a fixture that they have bossed lately, it really is very hard to understand how Al Fayha are to cope with the well-uprunning Ronaldo at the front and all the others in great show too. Along with their road woes, the visitors make outsiders in this game with some inconsistency in recent results as Al Nassr is supposed to win easily by 3-0 to move further up in Saudi Pro League standings.

Final Verdicts

Let the event of Friday determine how imperative this Al-Nassr vs Al Fayha encounter will come out when going up against one another. The win is quite important in the race for Al Nassr's title, with Al Fayha desperately needing the points to keep themselves clear from the relegation zone. This has all the makings of being a very exciting contest of fortunes, with Al-Nassr attacking firepower and home advantage set to make the difference. While chalking out plans to keep the steam up in Saudi Pro League football, the fans would like to see yet another scintillating show by Ronaldo along with other teammates.