Just one match into the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr are already playing catch-up in the title race as they take on Al Taawoun in their home opener.
Al Nassr were punished for resting key players as they fell on the road at Al Ettifaq 2-1 in their season opener, scoring early through a Sadio Mane league debut goal, only to cough it up in the end.
Mane was the only star who played in that match, with Cristiano Ronaldo and others all rested after playing in the Arab Club Champions Cup 48 hours before. Next they welcome Al Taawoun who themselves are no slouches, having finished fifth in last year's league table, only four points behind a powerful Al Hilal side, who came in third. Al Taawoun tied 1-1 at Al Fateh on the opening weekend.
Al Nassr's stars are expected to return here, and they'll need to deliver as the margin for error has already begun to shrink just one week in after rivals Al Ittihad and Al Hilal got off to winning starts.
LIVE BLOG: Follow all the action from Al Nassr vs. Al Taawoun as it happens
Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun live stream, TV channel
MORE: How to watch Saudi Pro League in USA | How to watch in UK
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | FS2, Fox Deportes | Fubo, Fox Sports GO |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | — | DAZN |
| Australia | — | 10 Play |
| India | Sony TEN 2 | Sony LIV, JioTV |
| Hong Kong | SPOTV | SPOTV |
| Malaysia | SPOTV | SPOTV |
| Singapore | SPOTV | SPOTV |
What time does Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun start?
This Saudi Pro League match at King Saud University kicks off on Friday, August 18 at 9 p.m. local time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Fri, Aug. 18 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Fri, Aug. 18 | 2 p.m. ET |
| UK | Fri, Aug. 18 | 7 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Sat, Aug. 19 | 4 a.m. AEST |
| India | Fri, Aug. 18 | 11:30 p.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Sat, Aug. 19 | 2 a.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Sat, Aug. 19 | 2 a.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Sat, Aug. 19 | 2 a.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Sat, Aug. 19 | 6 a.m. NZST |
MORE: Updated Saudi Pro League top scorers in 2023/24
Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun lineups
Al Nassr lost their opening match to an Al Ettifaq side captained by Jordan Henderson, but they didn't have the first-choice lineup except for Sadio Mane, who struck early in that match. Except for the injured Alex Telles, manager Luis Castro rolls out his best starting XI though it's a surprise to see backup goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah in goal in place of the regular Nawaf Al Aqidi, who's on the bench.
Al Nassr starting lineup (4-3-3): 33. Waleed Abudllah (GK) — 2. Sultan Al Ghannam, 78. Ali Lajami, 5. Abdulelah Al Amri, 13. Ghislain Konan — 6. Seko Fofana, 77. Marcelo Brozovic, 17. Abdullah Alkhaibari — 94. Anderson Talisca, 7. Cristiano Ronaldo, 10. Sadio Mane.
Al Nassr subs (9): 44. Nawaf Al Aqidi (GK), 12. Nawaf Al Boushal, 4. Mohammed Al Fatil, 24. Mohammed Qassem, 19. Ali Alhassan, 8. Abdulmajeed Alsulaihem, 11. Khalid Al Ghannam, 30. Meshari Al Nemer, 29. Abdulrahman Ghareeb
Al Taawoun had a different type of transfer window than Al Nassr, bringing in a Brazilian trio: centre-back Andrei Girotto on a small fee from French club FC Nantes, midfielder Flavio on loan from Trabzonspor, and winger Mateus from Japanese club Nagoya Grampus, alongside some players offloaded by giants Al Ittihad and Al Hilal. All three Brazilians start together with former Real Madrid reserve player Alvaro Medran.
Al Taawoun starting lineup (4-3-3): 1. Mailson (GK) — 42. Muath Muath, 4. Andrei Girotto, 14. Hassan Kadesh, 23. Waleed Al-Ahmed — 24. Flavio, 18. Ashraf El Mahdioui, 10. Alvaro Medran — 16. Mateus, 3. Leandre Tawamba, 15. Aloyayari Abdulmalik.
Al Taawoun subs (9): 36. Raghid Najjar (GK), 11. Fahad Al Abdulrazzaq, 31. Saad Yaslam Balobaid, 9. Abdulmalek Al Shammary, 6. Mohamed Al Ghamdi, 93. Awn Al Saluli, 7. Sattam Al Roqi, 8. Saad Al Nasser, 29. Ahmed Bahusayn.
Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun betting odds
Al Nassr are the favoured team in what is projected to be a high-scoring game, with the betting market liking the over 2.5 total goals line.
The spread (handicap) is also set at +/-1.5 (instead of the tighter +/- 0.5) as a sign of just how powerful this Al Nassr attack is expected to be with all the starters back into the lineup.
| Al Nassr win | Draw | Al Taawoun win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 2.5 goals | NAS -1.5 | TAA +1.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Interaction (Canada) | 1.25 | 5.01 | 8.41 | — | 1.57 / 2.26 | 1.80 | 1.95 |
| Dafabet (India) | 1.27 | 5.40 | 9.20 | 2.05 / 1.75 | 1.75 / 2.12 | 1.89 | 1.99 |
| Top Betting Sites (UK) | 1/4 | 4/1 | 15/2 | 20/21, 3/4 | 4/7, 13/10 | — | — |
