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

Two sides at opposing ends of the Saudi Pro League face off on Thursday as Al-Nassr welcome Al Raed to the Al-Awwal Stadium at King Saud University.

The hosts are currently in second place in the league standings with 53 points after 22 games, while the visitors are one spot above the relegation zone with just 20 points over the same number of games.

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Match preview

Al-Nassr head into this game off a 1-0 defeat to Al-Ain in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final tie, leaving them with more work to do in the return leg.

Despite having a larger share of the possession and more attempts on goal, the Global Ones could not find a response to Soufiane Rahimi's 44th-minute strike for Al-Ain.

Back in the league, Luis Castro's side dropped further behind in the title race as they settled for a disappointing 4-4 draw with bottom-placed Al-Hazem last Thursday, leaving them nine points adrift of league leaders Al-Hilal.

With 12 games left to play in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Nassr are running out of time if they plan to become champions at the end of the season.

Next in line is a home match against Al Raed, a side that they have dominated in past encounters, winning 28 times, losing just once and drawing five in the 34 meetings between them.

If the Global Ones pick up a positive result against Raed Al Tahadi, they will extend their home run across all competitions to 17 matches.

Meanwhile, Thursday's visitors also head into this match on a three-match winless streak following their 2-1 loss to Al-Feiha.

Igor Jovicevic's side went behind in the 50th minute to Nawaf Al-Harthi's goal but quickly restored parity five minutes later via Julio Tavares.

However, things got worse for Raed Al Tahadi when Mathias Normann was sent off in the 62nd minute, as Fashion Sakala found the net for Al-Feiha 14 minutes later.

With this result, Al Raed dropped to 15th-place on the table, just two points above the relegation zone.

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Team News

Al-Nassr are still without three of their first-team goalkeepers, with David Ospina and Raghed Al-Najjar both out due to injury, while Nawaf Al-Aqidi is still serving a ban handed down by the Saudi Football Federation, leaving Waleed Abdullah to continue in goal for this clash.

Talisca also suffered an anterior tendon injury that kept him out of Al-Nassr's Champions League defeat, and this will also see him miss Thursday's clash.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed the last league game due to a ban, will return for this fixture, spearheading the attack.

Meanwhile, Al Raed will be without Normann due to a one-match suspension after picking up a red card against Al-Feiha.

Mohamed Fouzair should return to the starting lineup in place of Normann while Tavares and Karim El Berkaoui should start in front once again.

Al-Nassr possible starting lineup: Abdullah; Boushal, Al-Amri, Laporte, Telles; Al-Khaibari, Brozovic; Talisca,Mane, Otavio; Ronaldo

Al Raed possible starting lineup: Moreira; Al Jayzani, Loum, Gonzalez, Al Rajeh, Al Dossary; Fouzair, Al Beshe, Al Subaie; Tavares, El Berkaoui

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We say: Al-Nassr 2-0 Al Raed

Al-Nassr have been excellent at home this season and head into this match unbeaten in their last 10 league games on home soil, including eight wins and two draws. Al Raed, on the other hand, have just one win in 11 away league matches this season. We expect the hosts to win this match comfortably.

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

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