Al Nassr have enjoyed an almost perfect start to the 2025–26 season. They currently sit atop the Saudi Pro League standings with a flawless record, and this Saturday they will look to extend their winning streak when they take on Al Hazm, with all eyes on Cristiano Ronaldo.
CR7 wasn’t even part of the squad that traveled to India earlier this week for Wednesday’s AFC Champions League Two matchup against Goa, where the team secured a crucial 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Angelo Gabriel and Haroune Camara.
Head coach Jorge Jesus explained that his priority at this stage of the season is to manage Ronaldo’s workload, avoiding long and tiring trips so the star forward can stay focused on the Saudi Pro League — Al Nassr’s main objective this year.
In the three campaigns Cristiano has spent in Saudi Arabia, Al Nassr have been unable to capture the league title, which went twice to Al Ittihad and once to Al Hilal. However, under Jesus, the team has started this season strongly and looks well-positioned to finally break that streak.
Al Nassr coach Jorge Jesus.
At the moment, Al Nassr lead the standings with 15 points, having won all five of their matches. Al Taawoun have the same total but have played one more game. A victory this Saturday against Al Hazm would allow Al Nassr to take sole possession of first place.
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Predicted lineup for Al Nassr
On Wednesday against Goa in the AFC Champions League Two, Jorge Jesus fielded a largely rotated lineup that featured only a few regular stars such as Inigo Martinez and Bento. That allowed most of the usual starters to rest — Joao Felix, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Simakan came on in the second half, while Kingsley Coman didn’t play a single minute and Cristiano Ronaldo stayed back in Riyadh.
Based on that, Al Nassr should be able to field a strong team this Saturday against Al Hazm. The predicted XI: Bento; Sultan Al Ghannam, Mohamed Simakan, Inigo Martinez, Nawaf Boushal; Abdullah Alkhaibari, Bassan Hazzazi; Kingsley Coman, Joao Felix, Sadio Mane; Cristiano Ronaldo.
Predicted lineup for Al Hazm
Unlike Al Nassr, Al Hazm have had an inconsistent start to the Saudi Pro League, with just one win, two draws, and two losses, leaving them in 13th place with five points. The predicted lineup for Saturday: Bruno Varela; Ahmed Al Nakhli, Sultan Tunkar, Abdulrahman Al Dakheel, Abdulaziz Al Harbi; Loreintz Rosier; Fabio Martins, Basil Alsayyali, Elias Mokwana, Nawaf Al Habashi; Omar Al Somah.
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