 |
|
February 9, 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr play host to Al Shabab in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday, 6 March, with Cristiano Ronaldo looking to continue his goalscoring run against their Riyadh rivals.
Playing at home with Cristiano Ronaldo spearheading the attack, Al-Nassr are clear favourites to collect all three points and make it a fifth straight win over Al-Shabab. Ronaldo has scored five goals in his last four matches against Al Shabab, a record that bettors in the football betting markets will find hard to ignore. His consistent performances make him a top choice in goalscoring markets and other betting options for this matchup. Fans of the underdogs will look to the likes of Yannick Carrasco and Daniel Podence to produce the goods, though Al Shabab haven't won in the last eight meetings.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Top goals for Al Nassr
Their last meeting was a close contest that ended dramatically. Aymeric Laporte had given Al Nassr a lead in the 69th minute, but an own goal from Ali Al Hassan in stoppage time saw the game destined to end in a draw.
But moments later, Al-Nassr were awarded a penalty and a chance to win the game. Up stepped Ronaldo, and the G.O.A.T blasted home from 12 yards to hand his team a memorable 2-1 victory.
When manager Fatih Terim gives his team talk, one topic that is bound to come up is CR7 and what can be done to stop him from running riot. The Portuguese superstar has been an absolute thorn for their Riyadh rivals, scoring six goals against them, including each of the last four meetings. Ronaldo is the current top scorer in the Saudi Pro League and will be confident of adding to his tally.
Al Shabab’s last victory over Al Nassr came in the 2021/2022 season when they recorded a 1-0 win at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. That means that Al-Shabab haven’t beaten their Riyadh rivals since they signed Ronaldo.
When you think of Al Nassr, you think of Ronaldo. But the Portuguese captain is joined by several big-name stars. The likes of ex-Manchester City defender Laporte, former Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and Jhon Duran, who arrived from Aston Villa for a hefty price tag in January, are all quality players capable of causing problems for Al Shabab.
There’s an old saying in football that “the ball is round”, which means there are no guarantees and that anything can happen on the pitch. But that said, anything other than a win for Al Nassr will come as a shock.
We certainly think so! The Portuguese international, who scored 40 goals in 2024, has been in red-hot form, scoring goals consistently, and his record against Al Shabab speaks for itself. Whether it’s from a header, shot, free-kick or penalty spot, CR7 is bound to get on the scoresheet and do his iconic ‘siuuu’ celebration.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on February 13, against Al Ahli for the Saudi Pro League. You can watch Al Ahli vs Al Nassr, Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Sevilla vs Barcelona, Plymouth vs Liverpool, Inter vs Fiorentina and Aston Villa vs Tottenham, all matches provided from our sports live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Ahli vs Al Al Nassr kick-off time (13-02-2025):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+7: 00:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+4.30: 22:00
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+2: 19:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 18:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 17:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 14:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 13:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 10:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / businessinsider.com / sportbible.com
