Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Al Nassr debut against Al Fateh in the 26/27 Saudi Pro League, where they’ll look to defend the title they won last season. For this match, however, manager Ange Postecoglou may not be able to count on his captain and star forward.
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected not to play in Al Nassr’s opener against Al Fateh, according to Al Riyadiah. The Portuguese forward remains sidelined following his recent wedding to Georgina Rodríguez, having missed the club’s entire preseason, including their training camp in Lisbon, and only returning to individual training earlier this week.
The Portuguese star is expected to make his season debut on August 21 against Al Riyadh, meaning he’ll also sit out the club’s King Cup opener against Al Diriyah before that.
For Saturday’s Matchday 1 clash, Postecoglou will have to open the campaign without his captain, leaning on the rest of a squad already stacked with attacking talent. The match kicks off at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, with both sides looking to start the new season on the front foot.
Al Nassr’s projected lineup
For his official debut with Al Nassr, Postecoglou is expected to start recent signing Samu Costa in midfield, while Abdullah Al-Hamdan would replace Ronaldo up front.
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Projected XI to face Al Fateh: Bento; Al-Nasser, Simakan, Martínez, Al-Najdi; Samu Costa, Abdulkareem, Mané, Félix, Coman; Al-Hamdan.
Al Fateh’s projected lineup
Al Fateh are expected to set up in a 3-5-2, with Al Enezi starting in goal behind a back three of Saadane, Darsi and Boateng. The midfield five is projected to feature Batna, Youssef, Harrison, Al Sahihi and Haraslin, supporting a front two of Machado and Al Masoud.
