Saudi Professional League 2023/2024

[TelolettOm]

I was not expecting to see a coach like Pioli join in the Saudi League. Pioli worked for years in the top team and he had a good performance in AC Milan he is definitely a coach with good knowledge who can help any team and make the team get improve.

Why you don't expect it? Pioli deserves to manage Al Nassr, right?
The quality and huge experience of Pioli is the matter that Al Nassr board wants to hire him.
I think this time Al Nassr hires a much better coach. I really hope he will fit with the current Al Nassr squad.

Some people say Ronaldo was the reason for changing the coach and he asked the team to hire a new coach for Al Nassr.

I think it is a rumor only. Many haters always try to make a bad reputation on Ronaldo. There is no proof that Ronaldo asked for a new coach. Ronaldo is just a player, he isn't bigger than Al Nassr board. It is impossible that Ronaldo requests to change the coach.

Al Nassr need a top defender to stop their opponents from scoring, they already have good attacks but lack good midfielders and defensive players.

Sure, Al Nassr needs some top defenders. However, the problem is they have a limitation for foreign players. Each Saudi club is only allowed to sign 10 foreign players. Al Nassr already has 10 foreign players now. They actually have no chance to sign another foreign player.

[BitcoinHunt3r]

Al Nassr need a top defender to stop their opponents from scoring, they already have good attacks but lack good midfielders and defensive players. Al nassr also have to start performing better in their games as they're slowly falling behind. They have played three games and lost one but it is the draws that they're getting that might cause them to not be able to win the league this year. They haven't conceded that many goals but on an average they have conceded one goal per game. This isn't bad but they need to strengthen their defense so they can concede zero goals for when they only scored one goal in a game, so they can still win and not to be drawing.

We all know it's been Al-Nassr's problem since last season weakness in the defense line so they couldn't compete with Al-Hilal and almost all of them ended in defeat. For this season we have not seen any significant improvement in Al-Nassr's defense and maybe that's the reason why Al-Nassr is out of the top 2. Today Al-Nassr will play the 4th match against Al-Ettifaq as an away team I am not too confident in Al-Nassr able to win, also Al-Ettifaq is in its best performance never lost in the last 3 matches so there is a possibility that both teams will draw.

Updated: In this match, Al-Nassr won convincingly by scoring 3 goals of course Ronaldo scored the first goal through a penalty. To be honest I didn't think Al-Nassr would play that aggressively because usually when playing away they seem to have difficulty in organizing attacks but in this match we saw the real game. This makes me even more curious to wait for the big match between Al-Nassr vs Al-Hilal at the end of October as the first fight of the season.

[ITExpert]

I think Neymar’s impact at Al-Hilal and Ronaldo’s role at Al-Nassr holds some validity when viewed in the broader context of team dynamics in football. Neymar, despite his talent and global stature, hasn’t had the continuous playing time at Al-Hilal due to injuries, and while his presence could elevate the squad, Al-Hilal has indeed built a well-rounded team with enough star power to remain competitive. Players like Malcom, Rúben Neves, and others have proven themselves capable of delivering results, even in Neymar’s absence, and I think that was waste of money in the first stage.

Similarly, while Ronaldo’s influence at Al-Nassr has been transformative, especially in terms of leadership and bringing the team to another level, the squad has also strengthened with other key signings. The team's success isn’t entirely dependent on Ronaldo, as they have added depth in various positions, making them a formidable side even without him.

Well the thing is that Ney hasn't had any kind of influence on Al Hilal, I couldn't say how good his influence is, so much can be said about CR7, but Ney basically what he has done is receive large amounts of money while being injured, what can be said about him is that if he earns so much while injured just imagine him scoring goals and being able to play his game and being more lined with money, so given that things are like this what these two characters do is give relevance to this league, and I think the Arabs see that, and clearly if Al Hilal is like that without Ney, I can't imagine the impact it would have if he had him at 100%, Al Nassr really is very lucky.

At present, CR7 is considered to be the fastest and strongest player in football and wherever each of these players play matches, most of the wins and other players are encouraged.  There is no such deficiency in this player and you are talking about his injury, he has made the whole team good and his hard work has made them a tip team.  And if he doesn't play for his team, other players will be frustrated and unable to do anything.  Everyone is playing for money, but will you include the players who win the match by working hard and scoring more goals?  I don't believe that a player like CR7 plays for his team and with full effort, he plays for money and does not support his team.And even if you see the board of the Arabs, not with them, they will definitely see for them and encourage them.

[tusandii]

* Al Ahli vs Al Damac
* Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr
2 matches that are very difficult to predict when viewed from the bookie's odds, of course Al Nassr and Al Ahli are favorites in this match, they have low odds, but I am a little doubtful about Al Nassr because this club's performance has been disappointing lately and has lost quite a lot of points while the club they will be playing against has been in good form lately by winning consecutively and this match certainly makes it easier for Al Ettifaq who are playing as the home team and Al Nassr's defense has been bad lately so I think a fair result for both teams is to get a draw but once again Al Nassr might be left further behind by Al Hilal at the top of the standings.

[hyudien]

Al Nassr has weak defense, no doubt Pioli will rebuild the defense line. They need 2 top local players for the left and right backs. They have 2 foreign players on center backs, I'm not sure if Pioli will try to sign new foreign players for left or right back. Since maximum foreign players is 10 players, I doubt if Pioli is interested to sign another top european defender.

Al Nassr need a top defender to stop their opponents from scoring, they already have good attacks but lack good midfielders and defensive players. Al nassr also have to start performing better in their games as they're slowly falling behind. They have played three games and lost one but it is the draws that they're getting that might cause them to not be able to win the league this year. They haven't conceded that many goals but on an average they have conceded one goal per game. This isn't bad but they need to strengthen their defense so they can concede zero goals for when they only scored one goal in a game, so they can still win and not to be drawing.

Since the beginning we have seen that Al Nassr's weakness lies in the defense line, that's what makes them unable to talk much especially when facing Al Hilal. Although their attack line works well, but if it is not balanced by a good defense line then it makes it difficult for them, because they have to score more goals to win the match to anticipate the opponent scoring several goals into their goal.
Who knows what their coach will do, but there are several options that can be applied, such as implementing a different formation by placing 3 defenders at once and or they can add players in the defensive midfielder position to be the first person to break up the opponent's attack. Now they must dare to try a new formation before they get a really tough defender.

[Mame89]

We all know it's been Al-Nassr's problem since last season weakness in the defense line so they couldn't compete with Al-Hilal and almost all of them ended in defeat. For this season we have not seen any significant improvement in Al-Nassr's defense and maybe that's the reason why Al-Nassr is out of the top 2. Today Al-Nassr will play the 4th match against Al-Ettifaq as an away team I am not too confident in Al-Nassr able to win, also Al-Ettifaq is in its best performance never lost in the last 3 matches so there is a possibility that both teams will draw.

Yes, that's right. It must be admitted that every advantage must have its weaknesses. Al Nassr's weakness this season and even last season was its defense line which was easily penetrated by opponents. If the defense line is weak even though it often scores goals, of course this is useless because to be able to compete with Al Hilal all lines must be equally solid.

Al Nassr will next face Al-Ettifaq. This will be the first match for Al Nassr's new coach, Pioli, to prove that he is worthy of fixing Al Nassr this season. The reason is, Pioli came to Al Nassr to solve the problems that occurred at Al Nassr, and he must find a solution to the weaknesses of Al Nassr's defense line so far. He must improve Al Nassr's performance which has been declining at the beginning of the season and he must prove it later when facing Al-Ettifaq.

[len01]

Al Nassr need a top defender to stop their opponents from scoring, they already have good attacks but lack good midfielders and defensive players. Al nassr also have to start performing better in their games as they're slowly falling behind. They have played three games and lost one but it is the draws that they're getting that might cause them to not be able to win the league this year. They haven't conceded that many goals but on an average they have conceded one goal per game. This isn't bad but they need to strengthen their defense so they can concede zero goals for when they only scored one goal in a game, so they can still win and not to be drawing.

We all know it's been Al-Nassr's problem since last season weakness in the defense line so they couldn't compete with Al-Hilal and almost all of them ended in defeat. For this season we have not seen any significant improvement in Al-Nassr's defense and maybe that's the reason why Al-Nassr is out of the top 2. Today Al-Nassr will play the 4th match against Al-Ettifaq as an away team I am not too confident in Al-Nassr able to win, also Al-Ettifaq is in its best performance never lost in the last 3 matches so there is a possibility that both teams will draw.

From a bettor's perspective, we certainly won't take a big risk betting on Al Nassr victory which is currently in a worse condition than last season. Even though they have Ronaldo but if the defense is bad, all of that is in vain and on the one hand Al Ettifaq has a very strong defense only conceding 1 goal. In that match I had the same thought as you if this match could end in a draw and our chance of getting big odds betting on double chance (Ettifaq or draw) with odds @2.10

[bitgolden]

AL Hilal will always show up in every game they are playing even if they are losing in the game they must find a way to win the match, AL Hilal is like a Real Madrid team that even if they do not play well they will find a way to win the match, AL Hilal have a good player's and they know how to sign player's that can help the team not like AL nassr that did not know how to solve the problem of their team, AL nassr just sack their coach and sign another coach, did we think that the coach is AL nassr problem of not winning the trophy?

Al Nassr's problem is not from the coach, the problem of AL nassr is from the players because if you look at AL nassr's match you will see that the players are the ones making mistakes and are conceding goals even when they are leading in the match, No matter how many coach AL nassr sign if they did not sign good player's like AL Hilal they will never win any trophy in that league.

While I do agree that coaches have some responsibility, I agree that players are the real reason and their defense has been terrible for a while and they have been losing games because of that. When the other team could attack easily, you have hard time even going to attack as well, because the other team keeps the ball at all times and not let you control the ball, and that is why Al Nassr should have much better defense, and probably a bit better centre midfield as well, but I wouldn't say to a better manager neither, their coach isn't the greatest so it could happen again.

I think the best thing to do right now would be just looking at the situation as well as they could do right now. This should be copied from Al Hilal, because they have a very very strong midfield and because of that they end up getting a greater results, and they could do fine in the end. It's not that clear if they are going to end up with a good result that easily.

[TelolettOm]

Since the beginning we have seen that Al Nassr's weakness lies in the defense line, that's what makes them unable to talk much especially when facing Al Hilal. Although their attack line works well, but if it is not balanced by a good defense line then it makes it difficult for them -snip-

You're right. Al Nassr has a problem in defense line since the last season. They only has Laporte as a strong defender, other defenders are too weak. I think Al Nassr will strengthen their defense with some new stronger defenders but they only signed 1 center-back (Mohamed Simakan). Honestly, I don't know this player, he was RB Leipzig defender. I never watched RB Leipzig match. In my opinion, it is still not strong enough to face Al Hilal with the current defenders.

Who knows what their coach will do, but there are several options that can be applied, such as implementing a different formation by placing 3 defenders at once and or they can add players in the defensive midfielder position to be the first person to break up the opponent's attack.

The new coach must be aware with the problem on the defense line. I'm not sure what his plan, sure he can change the formation or applies a new strategy. He also can change the players on the main lineup, or move a certain player on the new position. The change on the defense line may bring impact on the other lines. But, whatever the change in the defense line, I believe the 3 players* in the attacking line will remain the same.


*3 players in Al Nassr attacking line: Ronaldo, Mane, Talisca.

[mammusu]

Al Nassr need a top defender to stop their opponents from scoring, they already have good attacks but lack good midfielders and defensive players. Al nassr also have to start performing better in their games as they're slowly falling behind. They have played three games and lost one but it is the draws that they're getting that might cause them to not be able to win the league this year. They haven't conceded that many goals but on an average they have conceded one goal per game. This isn't bad but they need to strengthen their defense so they can concede zero goals for when they only scored one goal in a game, so they can still win and not to be drawing.

We all know it's been Al-Nassr's problem since last season weakness in the defense line so they couldn't compete with Al-Hilal and almost all of them ended in defeat. For this season we have not seen any significant improvement in Al-Nassr's defense and maybe that's the reason why Al-Nassr is out of the top 2. Today Al-Nassr will play the 4th match against Al-Ettifaq as an away team I am not too confident in Al-Nassr able to win, also Al-Ettifaq is in its best performance never lost in the last 3 matches so there is a possibility that both teams will draw.

The problems that Al Nassr had last season were actually more complex and actually contagious until this season, poor defense, poor game strategy, a squad that did not have a mentality and also inconsistency were the things that made Al Nassr last season fail to be championship, but now Al Nassr is starting to improve it one by one by bringing in Salem Al Najdi and Mo Simakan in their current defensive line,  However, the arrival of the two defenders is still not able to strengthen the defense that Al Nassr currently has, besides that the arrival of Pioli as the new coach of Al Nassr at this time of course may solve other problems that I mentioned above.

Al Nassr has played the first 3 matches with poor consistency after only one win and two draw, week 4 will obviously be a difficult match for Al Nassr because they have to face a team that is currently consistent in the league, Al ettifaq is currently in the 3rd position with 3 wins from 3 matches and obviously there are many differences happening at the moment between Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq in terms of performance and consistency team, at the moment Pioli has become the coach of Al Nassr and I think we will see a different game from Al Nassr in the match later.

[Gallar]

* Al Ahli vs Al Damac
* Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr
2 matches that are very difficult to predict when viewed from the bookie's odds, of course Al Nassr and Al Ahli are favorites in this match, they have low odds, but I am a little doubtful about Al Nassr because this club's performance has been disappointing lately and has lost quite a lot of points while the club they will be playing against has been in good form lately by winning consecutively and this match certainly makes it easier for Al Ettifaq who are playing as the home team and Al Nassr's defense has been bad lately so I think a fair result for both teams is to get a draw but once again Al Nassr might be left further behind by Al Hilal at the top of the standings.

~Snip

In the Al Ahli match against Damac, there is no need to doubt that Al Ahli can definitely win this match. The reason is that Al Ahli's performance so far can be said to be quite good, because even a team like Al Nasr was unable to beat Al Ahli. So with this Damac will definitely be a fairly easy opponent for Al Ahli, because if you look at the last match between Al Ahli and Damac the result is that Al Ahli can win. So there is no doubt that with this, Al Ahli will definitely win this match.

Apart from that, talking about the match between Al Ettifaq and Al Nasr, this match is a little difficult to predict, because Al Nasr and Al Ettifaq are both quite strong teams in the Saudi Arabian League. Therefore, predicting the result of the match this time will indeed be a little difficult. Although it is true, if you look at the second place, the Al Ettifaq team is superior to Al Nasr. Because currently Al Ettifaq is in 3rd place and Al Nasr is in 7th place. However, in my personal opinion, this cannot be a strong benchmark for predicting the result of this match. Because Al Nasr can sometimes be quite a strong team if they play against strong teams too. Apart from that, if you compare the current performance of Al Ettifaq and Al Nasr, when talking about the front line, Al Nasr is superior. However, when compared, Al Ettifaq's back line is indeed superior. So with this, the team that can overcome its shortcomings in this match will definitely be able to win the match. But in this match I have confidence that Al Nasr has a big chance of winning in this match
And in conclusion, I personally will bet on Al Ahli and Al Nasr in these matches.

[IvugeoEvolutionCoin]

Al-Khaleej vs Al Feiha in the match between two teams, no team has scored any goal so far. Al-Khaleej team has more chances to win in today's match. Al-Khaleej team has performed well in the previous matches. I don't know how well Al Feiha team can do this.  In the match. Al-Khaleej team's players are much better than Al Feiha team's players. I don't think any team will be able to score before half time.

[Pandorak]

I think the upcoming Al-Nassr vs Al-Ettifaq match will be a lucky for Pioli as the new Manager of Al- Nassr, because Al-Nassr is superior to Al-Ettifaq. Based on the last 5 H2H matches between Al-Nassr vs Al-Ettifaq, i'm sure that Al-Nassr will win and the odds of 1.61 to choose Al-Nassr prove that Al-Nassr is favored in this match, whereas if you choose Al-Ettifaq as the winner the odds are 4.70, which indicates that it is difficult for Al-Ettifaq to win.

[Palakka]

Al-Khaleej vs Al Feiha in the match between two teams, no team has scored any goal so far. Al-Khaleej team has more chances to win in today's match. Al-Khaleej team has performed well in the previous matches. I don't know how well Al Feiha team can do this.  In the match. Al-Khaleej team's players are much better than Al Feiha team's players. I don't think any team will be able to score before half time.

Edit: surprisingly al damac was able to make the score draw to 1-1 at this time after fallatah managed to score in the 45+9th minute

Although it was against a relegation zone team, but until the 65th minute Al Khaleej was still very difficult to score, to be honest, although Al Khaleej was favored if we saw their position in the standings at this time, but their game was not better than Al Fayha, the two teams were actually very balanced and the same was not able to create many good opportunities to score,  So if Seeing Al Khaleej poor game and current performance makes me doubt that they can win over Al Fayha at the end of the match later, even Al Fayha is more effective when counterattacking Al Khaleej defense.

In another match, Al Ahli again showed their current ability by facing damac, they appeared quite spartan since the match started and without waiting long Veiga managed to bring Al Ahli ahead in the 13th minute with a goal that he created, while this match almost entered the rest time with a score of 1-0 for Al Ahli victory and if you look at Al Ahli current game it seems that they have the opportunity to add to the score in the second half later.

[IvugeoEvolutionCoin]

In the match of Al-Wehda vs Al Kholood team, Al Kholood won today's match by scoring 1 goal. Al-Wehda team did not score any goals in today's match after many efforts. Al Kholood team player Á.  Collado scored in the 60th minute. On the other hand, Al-Wehda's player A. Bandar Darwish received a red card in the 57th minute.

[Zlantann]

I think the upcoming Al-Nassr vs Al-Ettifaq match will be a lucky for Pioli as the new Manager of Al- Nassr, because Al-Nassr is superior to Al-Ettifaq. Based on the last 5 H2H matches between Al-Nassr vs Al-Ettifaq, i'm sure that Al-Nassr will win and the odds of 1.61 to choose Al-Nassr prove that Al-Nassr is favored in this match, whereas if you choose Al-Ettifaq as the winner the odds are 4.70, which indicates that it is difficult for Al-Ettifaq to win.

Head to Head might favour Al-Nassr, but based on current performance, Al-Ettifaq is a better side. The host has beat Al-Shabab, Al Akhdoud and Al Fateh SC this season, clinching nine points like the other two top clubs. Al-Nassr FC now have an experienced coach who can help turn their fortune after losing just five points. Stefano Pioli led AC Milan to the Italian Seria A title and the UCL Semifinals. He also has coaching experience with Lazio, Internazionale and Fiorentina. So, it is believed that with its tactical prowess, the Saudi side will improve its performance. We cannot judge him by today's match since he has just spent some hours with the club, but it is expected he would use his wealth of experience to make Al-Nassr compete with other well-financed clubs.

[fullhdpixel]

From a bettor's perspective, we certainly won't take a big risk betting on Al Nassr victory which is currently in a worse condition than last season. Even though they have Ronaldo but if the defense is bad, all of that is in vain and on the one hand Al Ettifaq has a very strong defense only conceding 1 goal. In that match I had the same thought as you if this match could end in a draw and our chance of getting big odds betting on double chance (Ettifaq or draw) with odds @2.10

Despite having change of coach things are not looking favourable for the Al Nassr because they are having wired situation just defense is not concern for them their attack in big games are also not able to perform according to requirement which is another problem for them in last few games they fail to keep momentum and also ended with 1–1 draw in AFC Champions League game which they played against Iraq club Al Shorta.

Now we can expect better performance with change of strategy but this need time, and tonight they are having the toughest opponent which is having all wins from their first three games surely it's big challenge for the experienced Stefano Pioli now we have to check how the response and how things will be gone.

[bitgolden]

* Al Ahli vs Al Damac
* Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr
2 matches that are very difficult to predict when viewed from the bookie's odds, of course Al Nassr and Al Ahli are favorites in this match, they have low odds, but I am a little doubtful about Al Nassr because this club's performance has been disappointing lately and has lost quite a lot of points while the club they will be playing against has been in good form lately by winning consecutively and this match certainly makes it easier for Al Ettifaq who are playing as the home team and Al Nassr's defense has been bad lately so I think a fair result for both teams is to get a draw but once again Al Nassr might be left further behind by Al Hilal at the top of the standings.

I am pretty sure that Al Hilal looks like they are almost guaranteed to win. 1.37 odds are not small odds and it looks like they are given that famous dominant team odds and I believe that they are going to win. Al Nassr was given a bit higher, but 1.82 isn't that bad neither and I think they are going to end up winning as well.

There is this hopelessness in Al Nassr right now that many of them are having because they realize that they are doing fine but also Al Hilal doesn't lose and keeps on getting wins and they are not going to be the champions so Al Nassr has this "chaos" right now where they are not happy with what they have and because of that we are seeing them not be happy and have low morale. But that shouldn't impact this game and they should be able to get an easy win. Combine these two tames together and you have yourself a decent parlay that should hit, of course it could also be a loss, we never know the games before they happen, we just take a chance.

[Pandu Geddon]

Al Nassr was given a bit higher, but 1.82 isn't that bad neither and I think they are going to end up winning as well.

Al Nassr currently has a 0-3 lead. Positive results were obtained by Ronaldo and the team. This result will help increase their confidence to catch up on points from Al Ittihad and Al Hilal.

While tomorrow, Al Hilal will face Al Ittihad. The chances are more in favor of Al Hilal, besides they are playing at home, in several previous meetings Al Hilal is more favored than Al Ittihad. Al Hilal managed to win 1-2 from Al Ittihad in the King's Cup and won 1-4 in the Super Cup. Al Hilal may also win tomorrow's match.

[rahmad2nd]

In fact, Al Hilal players are not much more competitive than Al Nassr, but they can play with solid teamwork.

How can you conclude that "Al Hilal players aren't much more competitive"?
If you compare the market value of Al Hilal squad and Al Nassr squad, you will understand that Al Hilal squad is much more competitive. Even, Al Hilal has the squad with highest market value in Saudi league. It means Al Hilal has the most expensive squad, they have most competitive players.

Al Hilal squad


transfermarkt

Al Nassr squad


transfermarkt

and we can see, Al Hilal players are very productive and not just Mitrovic.

I only see Mitrovic who is very productive in Al Hilal squad. He already scored  goals so far, he leads the top scorer table.
TBH I don't see other players who are very productive. Can you mention other players who scored many goals as Mitrovic?

Just take a look the stats. 
https://fbref.com/en/squads/972e2539/Al-Hilal-Stats

maybe we have different points of view regarding Al Nassr, for me the presence of Luis Castro certainly plays a big role for his team. simply he is the one who designs strategies and tactics, implementing the most ideal system. it's not a matter of how to score as many goals as possible, but also how they maintain their defense line.

It is quite strange if you claimed Luis Castro applied an ideal system. 
If he did it, Al Nassr should win the SPL trophy already. In fact, Al Nassr never performed better in every season under his management.
Also, the defense line is very weak, how can Al Nassr maintain this weak defense? If they maintain the current defense, they will never have a stronger defense line. What they must do, is to improve the defense line!!

Interesting, quite an interesting discussion. but previously it seems I did not convey my opinion in detail. what I mean is a player who has a big name, not based on market price. because, if they want them they are able to bring them. try to see from the statistics of last season, I mean besides Mitrovic. Malcon was able to score 15 goals last season. Sergej Savic scored 11 goals, Salem Al-Dawsari scored 14 goals. Michael 5 goals, and several other players. well, I think they are quite productive, apart from the 28 goals scored by Mitrovic. clearly, our benchmark is the previous season because this season has only been running for three weeks.

Another point, it seems we have a misunderstanding of interpretation. an ideal system does not guarantee trophies, even strong teams do not always win all their matches. may this be my comparison, if it is not relevant you can correct it. btw, what I mean is Luis Castro has maximized his abilities with an ideal system according to his version. the word ideal, has a broad definition depending on how we digest it. btw, in my previous post I suggested that Al Nassr club or management should have replaced Luis casto with another coach. but because the discussion continued and the conversation widened, which eventually became multi-interpretable. anyway, glad you responded to my post, warm regards.