Preview: Al-Hilal vs. Al-Nassr - prediction, team news, lineups

Unstoppable Al-Hilal could go seven points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League table on Monday when they welcome title rivals Al-Nassr to Kingdom Arena in the 15th gameweek.

Having been neck and neck in the title race, Cristiano Ronaldo and co. have dropped the ball in recent weeks, losing two of the last three to slip four points behind ahead of their imminent trip to Riyadh, where they were victorious in last season’s corresponding fixture.

Match preview

In truth, it was never in doubt that Al-Hilal would defeat promoted Al Hazem on Thursday, and goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves and a late Darwin Nunez strike secured a 10th straight league victory for Simone Inzaghi’s troops.

Inzaghi’s men trailed their title rivals by four points after both teams had played 10 matches, but there has been an eight-point swing since, with the Riyadh outfit not letting up to overtake their title rivals.

Thursday’s triumph was also their 18th consecutive success overall, underlining their undeniable consistency across all competitions as the league nears its halfway point.

While the Blue Waves head into their imminent fixture with the team in second as sure-fire favourites, the partisan supporters in Riyadh will be wary of events from the corresponding fixture last season, which saw them defeated 3-1.

That defeat marked Al-Hilal’s first loss to their opponents in four years, ending a 10-match unbeaten sequence against Al-Nassr, and they aim to avoid falling to consecutive setbacks against their title rivals for the first time since January–February 2021.

Unblemished at home since mid-September’s 2-2 draw with Al Qadsiah, the red-hot league leaders are undoubtedly favourites to secure a sixth consecutive top-flight win at Kingdom Arena and 10th overall at the expense of their regional rivals.

Jorge Jesus’s short-term remit will be snapping the wobble for the side in second, having picked up one point from an available nine and losing two on the spin.

The ongoing run has come as a surprise for most observers who witnessed the Big Yellow rack up 10 consecutive wins to start the season, scoring 33 goals and conceding just five.

However, Jesus’s team have suddenly become leaky defensively, conceding seven goals during their winless run, two more than they let in after 10 gameweeks.

This defensive drop-off probably shows where the team’s primary area of concern is ahead of Monday’s trip to Al-Hilal, a side they trail by four points and face the prospect of falling further behind in the title race.

Further worrisome in the short term is the possibility of Ronaldo and co. slipping to third in the table, with Al-Taawon level on points with the team in second, ahead of the next round of games in the division.

Having seen their flawless start give way to defensive frailties, it remains to be seen which version of Al Nassr turn up at Kingdom Arena on Monday.

With the visitors winless in their past two away matches in the division, a third could leave them facing an uphill challenge to supplant their regional rivals, even with the league yet to reach the halfway mark.

Al-Hilal Saudi Pro League form:

Al-Hilal form (all competitions):

Al-Nassr Saudi Pro League form:

Al-Nassr form (all competitions):

Team News

Kalidou Koulibaly and Bono are still unavailable due to their participation at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with Senegal and Morocco making the semis after Friday’s wins over Mali and Cameroon, respectively.

Al-Hilal seemed to come through Thursday’s win over Al Hazem unscathed, leaving Inzaghi with most of his big-hitters for the top-of-the-table clash.

While Marcos Leonardo failed to tuck away a few promising chances in the win, the seven-goal forward remains the team’s top scorer — one more than Nunez — and could add to his tally in the forthcoming encounter.

With his stunning goal and assist, Neves moved to eight contributions for the season — only Nunez (nine) has more — and the Portuguese midfielder continues to influence games for the Riyadh giants.

Al Nassr, meanwhile, are without Sadio Mane due to international commitments with the Lions of Teranga in Morocco.

Mohamed Simakan (muscle) and long-term absentee Sami Al-Najei (knee) are missing, having last played in December and August, respectively.

After failing to score in the loss to Al Ahli, Ronaldo was back among the goals on Thursday, but his 81st-minute penalty could only halve the deficit in the eventual 2-1 home defeat to Al Qadsiah.

While no player has more goals than Ronaldo (14), teammate Joao Felix has scored one more goal than the legendary forward away from home (six), and the attacking midfielder aims to add to his overall tally of 13 in the upcoming headline fixture.

Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:

Al-Rubaie; Al Yami, Tambakti, Akcicek, N Al-Dawsari; Milinkovic-Savic, Neves, Kanno; Malcolm, Nunez, S Al-Dawsari

Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:

Al-Aqudi; Al-Ghannam, Al-Amri, Martinz, Yahya; Coman, Al-Khaibari, Brozovic, Angelo; Felix, Ronaldo

We say: Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Nassr

While the hosts are clear favourites and have momentum, Ronaldo and Felix are considerable threats to Al-Hilal’s prospects.

Although Monday’s top-of-the-table clash should see plenty of goalmouth action, the Blue Waves should utilise their home advantage and superior momentum to secure a significant victory at Kingdom Arena to open a seven-point lead.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.