Saudi Professional League 2023/2024

[Ahli38]

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.

I also thought like you. Because in previous matches Al-Nassr were not like them last season. Problems at the back line and in addition to the attack line they also wasted a lot of opportunities. But in today's match it turns out that Al-Nassr got back up and managed to beat Al-ettifaq. I hope this positive sign can continue and make Al-Nassr slowly rise to the top of the rankings.

Successfully beating Al-Ettifaq with a score of 0-3 was truly unexpected. Because Al-ETtifaq in the last 3 matches is also undefeated and very strong. But in today's match they finally suffered defeat by Al-Nassr.

And I think now we know why. Because these positive results appeared at the same time as Pioli's debut as Al-Nassr coach replacing Castro.

[Juse14]

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.

I also thought like you. Because in previous matches Al-Nassr were not like them last season. Problems at the back line and in addition to the attack line they also wasted a lot of opportunities. But in today's match it turns out that Al-Nassr got back up and managed to beat Al-ettifaq. I hope this positive sign can continue and make Al-Nassr slowly rise to the top of the rankings.

Successfully beating Al-Ettifaq with a score of 0-3 was truly unexpected. Because Al-ETtifaq in the last 3 matches is also undefeated and very strong. But in today's match they finally suffered defeat by Al-Nassr.

And I think now we know why. Because these positive results appeared at the same time as Pioli's debut as Al-Nassr coach replacing Castro.

It is, of course, wonderful! Defeating Al-Ettifaq who is in the third position by 3-0 is not a simple task. ​​ The new coach Pioli seems to have started bringing some positive changes with him, and hopefully this streak can continue.

Considering Al-Nassr could win over a tough team like Al-Ettifaq, it's definitely a positive sign for them in the future within the league. A new coach Pioli seems to bring in a fresh strategy that can make use of optimization from his players' potentials. If this can continue, it's not impossible for Al-Nassr to lead the standings.

Besides, a convincing win by three goals to nil injects some confidence required by the team after putting up mixed results at the beginning of the campaign. The attack line looks crisper plus sharper and the defense which was a problem area begins to stabilize. With such momentum, Al-Nassr can be a major threat again in the league, perhaps even challenging for the very top.

[Uruhara]

Successfully beating Al-Ettifaq with a score of 0-3 was truly unexpected. Because Al-ETtifaq in the last 3 matches is also undefeated and very strong. But in today's match they finally suffered defeat by Al-Nassr.

And I think now we know why. Because these positive results appeared at the same time as Pioli's debut as Al-Nassr coach replacing Castro.

I just didn't expect that drastic changes we could see in the Al-Nassr squad after they had a new coach. I see that almost all the problems that Al-Nassr have, such as in the defense line, are now starting to be resolved after they have a new coach who replaced Luis Castro, namely Stefano Pioli. There is absolutely no doubt about his quality as a coach. I think Al-Nassr has taken the right step by bringing in Pioli. And maybe from now on Al-Nassr will gain much more winning momentum.

I am happy that Al-Nassr can finally play better after they always experienced a deadlock in previous matches. Stefano Pioli, who is used to managing big clubs in Serie A such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Bologna, will certainly have no difficulty at all in adapting to Al-Nassr, which is also full of quality players so far. I think it's time for Al-Nassr to improve again like last season. Luis Castro last season made Al-nassr achieve good results. but this season it seems he hasn't succeeded so he seems to have agreed to leave and be replaced by Pioli.

[Popkon6]

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo performed quite strongly as he scored a goal in today's match. But in today's match, Al Ittifaq team tried hard to score but they failed, they lack attacking players in their attacking department. Although there were only six attacks in this match, goals could have been scored had there been better finishing men, but Al Nasser's squad has more experienced players in Anderson Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo who are experienced enough to take direct kicks from inside the D box at any time. But due to the relative lack of such players in the Al Ittefaq team, they could not hit the goalpost directly in this match.

[Hirose UK]

Successfully beating Al-Ettifaq with a score of 0-3 was truly unexpected. Because Al-ETtifaq in the last 3 matches is also undefeated and very strong. But in today's match they finally suffered defeat by Al-Nassr.

And I think now we know why. Because these positive results appeared at the same time as Pioli's debut as Al-Nassr coach replacing Castro.

Great, in today match Al Nassr managed to win big with 3 goal without reply against Al-Ettifaq which is clear that this is an away match for Al Nassr, initially I thought Al Nassr would only be able to win narrowly because Al-Ettifaq played very well in the previous matches.
Salem Al-Najdi and also Talisca gave one goal each with good execution thanks to an assist from Mane, this is game that is always awe-inspiring for fans where Mane is able to play by creating several assist opportunities and other players can use it to become goal.
And I agree that Al Nassr good performance is also thanks to Stefano Pioli performance as coach, he is experienced and he has great influence on the development of Al Nassr in the future, the style of play and tactics given by Stefano Pioli will be easy for Al Nassr players to understand.

[Leviathan.007]

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.

Al Nassr will definitely change after they hire Pioli for their team. Al Nassr had a good player and the main problem for this team was the defensive line but now since they hired Pioli to start working there, I think Al Nassr will now have more chance for the title of this season than before.
However, the sad thing about hiring Pioli is he started working there after the transfer window which means he can't hire the players he needs for his team to build the the team himself.

[Nheer]

I just didn't expect that drastic changes we could see in the Al-Nassr squad after they had a new coach. I see that almost all the problems that Al-Nassr have, such as in the defense line, are now starting to be resolved after they have a new coach who replaced Luis Castro, namely Stefano Pioli. There is absolutely no doubt about his quality as a coach. I think Al-Nassr has taken the right step by bringing in Pioli. And maybe from now on Al-Nassr will gain much more winning momentum.

It is now obvious that Luis Castro didn’t do his best to strengthen the team, from the caliber of players they have I expect them to do better than they did but just couldn’t, because Luis Castro didn’t pay attention to the department that needed to be strengthened to balance the team. It is the first time in a while that they didn’t concede a goal that shows the improvement in their defensive line, it is just the first match so it is early to conclude if this is the right decision by the team but I also believe they needed a different coach with different tactics to challenge Al Hilal.

[OcTradism]

Al Nassr will definitely change after they hire Pioli for their team. Al Nassr had a good player and the main problem for this team was the defensive line but now since they hired Pioli to start working there, I think Al Nassr will now have more chance for the title of this season than before.
However, the sad thing about hiring Pioli is he started working there after the transfer window which means he can't hire the players he needs for his team to build the the team himself.

Saying definitely is too much but I believe that Pioli is able to help Al Nassr improving their performances. The progress of improvement will not be rosy for Al Nassr and Pioli, and they will have some challenge, hiccups along the progress but with good capability of Pioli and ambition of Al Nassr players as well as their quality, they will find solutions to improve themselves together as an united team and will be able to challenge Al Hilal better.

It is now obvious that Luis Castro didn’t do his best to strengthen the team, from the caliber of players they have I expect them to do better than they did but just couldn’t, because Luis Castro didn’t pay attention to the department that needed to be strengthened to balance the team.

I don't think Luis Castro did not know about weakness of Al Nassr is in defense system but he simply lacked of ideas for improvements, or failed to do it with his players through trainings.

Whatever reasons, it's not important, if as a head coach, he can not get good results with the team, he is responsible for it and need to leave the club, if not proactively, it has to be a sack.

[Jody.Drummer]

Al Ittihad has become the most productive club so far with 10 goals they have managed to create from 3 matches, they are also one of the clubs that have not been defeated and have recorded a perfect victory with Al Hilal. In the 4th week they will visit Al Hilal's headquarters, it will be a very tough match for them because they will face a club that is difficult to beat. They must be prepared to play this tough match. This will also be a match that determines who among them can record 4 perfect wins in the first 4 matches. besides not being easy for Al Ittihad, this is also not easy for Al Hilal, because their opponents come with the target of the best results, I am sure they come with the target of victory or at least they must bring home 1 point from this match.

[EarnOnVictor]

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo performed quite strongly as he scored a goal in today's match. But in today's match, Al Ittifaq team tried hard to score but they failed, they lack attacking players in their attacking department. Although there were only six attacks in this match, goals could have been scored had there been better finishing men, but Al Nasser's squad has more experienced players in Anderson Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo who are experienced enough to take direct kicks from inside the D box at any time. But due to the relative lack of such players in the Al Ittefaq team, they could not hit the goalpost directly in this match.

No doubt, Al Nasser is enjoying the C. Ronaldo for the money well spent on him, his presence is always shaping the club for the good but they need to do better this time and not lag behind but learn from the last season. They need to understand the importance of serious competition from the beginning, middle and end, they often relax at times and no wonder Al-Hilal moved past them last season with notable points despite the good stars in their squad.

As for yesterday's match against Al-Ettifaq, they were the better side, though Al-Ettifaq was not particularly bad only that they lacked the firepower that can finish the attack. That's what Al-Nasser has in addition to their good defence and used that against them and it was a beautiful score in the two half-time of the match.

[Glen Hoddle]

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo performed quite strongly as he scored a goal in today's match. But in today's match, Al Ittifaq team tried hard to score but they failed, they lack attacking players in their attacking department. Although there were only six attacks in this match, goals could have been scored had there been better finishing men, but Al Nasser's squad has more experienced players in Anderson Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo who are experienced enough to take direct kicks from inside the D box at any time. But due to the relative lack of such players in the Al Ittefaq team, they could not hit the goalpost directly in this match.

No doubt, Al Nasser is enjoying the C. Ronaldo for the money well spent on him, his presence is always shaping the club for the good but they need to do better this time and not lag behind but learn from the last season. They need to understand the importance of serious competition from the beginning, middle and end, they often relax at times and no wonder Al-Hilal moved past them last season with notable points despite the good stars in their squad.

Al Nasr team performed the most important, if between these two teams Al Nassr team squad is stronger. Because Al Nassr team includes Cristiano Ronaldo and other experienced players, whose performance is always very good. The European star who can attack any team in a moment has changed all the teams since he entered the Saudi league. And every player is learning from Cristiano Ronaldo, it is possible to get the most benefit because if you get advice from an experienced player then you can benefit from the best advice. So one of the main reasons to bring Cristiano Ronaldo into the team is to complete his squad with experience.

[AirtelBuzz]

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.

Of course Al Nassr welcomed their new coach Pioli with a win in this match. Al Nassr beat Al-Ettifaq Football Team 3-0 in this Saudi Pro League match. This is Al Nassr's second win of the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League season, they have not lost two matches before but have drawn two matches. Al-Ettifaq on the other hand, suffered their first defeat of the season by losing to Al Nassr. These two teams have faced each other in equal number of matches yet Al-Ettifaq tops Al Nassr in the points table as they have won more matches.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo made his statement on Instagram after Al Nassr defeated Al-Ettifaq Football Team in their fourth match, "Great team effort! Big win tonight---it's for the fans.

[mammusu]

Al Ittihad has become the most productive club so far with 10 goals they have managed to create from 3 matches, they are also one of the clubs that have not been defeated and have recorded a perfect victory with Al Hilal. In the 4th week they will visit Al Hilal's headquarters, it will be a very tough match for them because they will face a club that is difficult to beat. They must be prepared to play this tough match. This will also be a match that determines who among them can record 4 perfect wins in the first 4 matches. besides not being easy for Al Ittihad, this is also not easy for Al Hilal, because their opponents come with the target of the best results, I am sure they come with the target of victory or at least they must bring home 1 point from this match.

Both teams have perfect statistics at the moment in the Arab league because they managed to win 4 consecutive wins in the league, the goal and conceded records of the two teams are also not too different so the match later will be very tight, Al Hillal and Al Ittihad are two big teams that are strong candidates to win this season and I think maybe one of those teams will get its first defeat in the match later or will also end the match with draw, so teams like Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq should be able to take advantage of this opportunity to at least be able to re-enter as title contenders, Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq will play an easier match in week 5, because they are facing teams that are below them, so they must to maximize it to get 3 points later when Al Hillal and Al Ittihad may lose points in their match later.

[sp4rhawk]

Both teams have perfect statistics at the moment in the Arab league because they managed to win 4 consecutive wins in the league, the goal and conceded records of the two teams are also not too different so the match later will be very tight, Al Hillal and Al Ittihad are two big teams that are strong candidates to win this season and I think maybe one of those teams will get its first defeat in the match later or will also end the match with draw, so teams like Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq should be able to take advantage of this opportunity to at least be able to re-enter as title contenders, Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq will play an easier match in week 5, because they are facing teams that are below them, so they must to maximize it to get 3 points later when Al Hillal and Al Ittihad may lose points in their match later.

Yes, I agree with your analysis. Both Al Hilal and Al Ittihad have excellent track records this season in the Arab league, making it difficult to predict who will come out on top. This indeed leaves room for other teams such as Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq to capitalize and potentially climb the ranks. As with any sport, opportunities will present themselves in unexpected ways, and it's up to the teams to utilize these moments effectively. Football is always unpredictable and that's part of the excitement. Keep an eye on the upcoming matches; it's sure to be an exhilarating season.

[rapsodian1213]

Yes, I agree with your analysis. Both Al Hilal and Al Ittihad have excellent track records this season in the Arab league, making it difficult to predict who will come out on top. This indeed leaves room for other teams such as Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq to capitalize and potentially climb the ranks. As with any sport, opportunities will present themselves in unexpected ways, and it's up to the teams to utilize these moments effectively. Football is always unpredictable and that's part of the excitement. Keep an eye on the upcoming matches; it's sure to be an exhilarating season.

I agree. Al Hilal and Al Ittihad have a great record this season in the Arab League, which makes it difficult to predict who will come out on top. This, in fact, leaves room for other teams such as Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq to exploit the opportunity and potentially move up the table. As in any sport, opportunities will present themselves in unexpected ways and it is up to teams to use these moments effectively. Football is always unpredictable and this

[Pandorak]

I think Neymar is a big fraud to Al-Hilal, despite the multi million contract deal he signed with the club, he's only played 5 times and won up to 5 trophies. Well asides that I don't think Al-Hilal would even depend on Neymar if he was still presently active in the club, his presence would be a boost but without him they're capable of winning games  and defeating top rivals since they still got other star players in the squad there's no point going further cause you've mentioned them already that enough should be able to convince anyone that Al-Hilal's squad is okay with or without Neymar. Al-Nassr's squad is in good shape too despite that Ronaldo has helped them improve better, they added some quality players in several areas to so they should be able to survive in the league without Ronaldo.

I understand your point about Neymar, but calling him a "fraud" might be a bit harsh. While it’s true he hasn’t played many games for Al-Hilal, his impact on the team can't be dismissed purely by his appearances. When Neymar is fit and on the pitch, his experience, creativity, and skill set offer something unique, elevating the team’s overall play. It’s fair to say that Al-Hilal is well-equipped to win without him, given the depth and talent of the squad, but star players like Neymar aren't just there to win games—they boost the club's profile, attract attention, and elevate the level of play around them.

As for Al-Nassr, you’re spot on. Ronaldo’s presence has undoubtedly transformed the team, but, like Al-Hilal, they’ve built a strong squad that can compete at the highest level. Ronaldo might be the talisman, but as you’ve mentioned, with quality additions in other areas, both Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr have shown they’re not dependent on one superstar alone. Still, having players like Neymar or Ronaldo in your team is always a massive advantage.

But like Juventus and Manchester United, if i can be honest, after Cristiano's departure, they seem to have lost a leader in the team.

[MAAManda]

Al Ittihad has become the most productive club so far with 10 goals they have managed to create from 3 matches, they are also one of the clubs that have not been defeated and have recorded a perfect victory with Al Hilal. In the 4th week they will visit Al Hilal's headquarters, it will be a very tough match for them because they will face a club that is difficult to beat. They must be prepared to play this tough match. This will also be a match that determines who among them can record 4 perfect wins in the first 4 matches. besides not being easy for Al Ittihad, this is also not easy for Al Hilal, because their opponents come with the target of the best results, I am sure they come with the target of victory or at least they must bring home 1 point from this match.

Of course, this match will be an interesting one as it will bring together the top 2 teams in the current SPL standings, but even though Al-Ittihad looks more dominant in the standings, I think they will lose this match. You can see the odds image that I attached below.

Image Source: Rollbit

Odds for Al-Hilal look smaller, because of the reason this match will be their home match and on the other side, they were the dominant team in SPL last season. So I think 3 points will go to Al-Hilal.

[AprilioMP]

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.

Not Ronaldo, Talisca, Mane or other names who played well but for me the most brilliant figure was Stefano Pioli. I just found out that Stefano Pioli now served as Al Nassr coach. His presence with Al Nassr increasingly made the Saudi League competition will be more interesting.
Al Nassr's victory over Al Ettifaq made Steven Gerrard accepting the first defeat this season.

Al Nassr's victory with a score of 0-3 can still make them go down from the current position in the standings if Al-Taawoun can get 3 points today in the match against Al Shabab.

[Gallar]

Great, in today match Al Nassr managed to win big with 3 goal without reply against Al-Ettifaq which is clear that this is an away match for Al Nassr, initially I thought Al Nassr would only be able to win narrowly because Al-Ettifaq played very well in the previous matches.
Salem Al-Najdi and also Talisca gave one goal each with good execution thanks to an assist from Mane, this is game that is always awe-inspiring for fans where Mane is able to play by creating several assist opportunities and other players can use it to become goal.
And I agree that Al Nassr good performance is also thanks to Stefano Pioli performance as coach, he is experienced and he has great influence on the development of Al Nassr in the future, the style of play and tactics given by Stefano Pioli will be easy for Al Nassr players to understand.

That's right, it's extraordinary that Al Nasr was able to win over Al Ettifaq with a fairly large score of 3-0. Even before this match started, many people doubted that Al Nasr could win this match. Because it cannot be denied that Al Nasr's performance so far has been inconsistent. But Ronaldo and his teammates proved and disproved all these doubts and convinced us all that Al Nasr is a tough team.
Apart from that, from the start I personally was quite confident that in this match against Al Ettifaq the Al Nasr players would perform better. So in this match I bet on Al Nasr, and sure enough my prediction was correct.

Apart from that, Al Nasr's victory over Al Ettifaq did not escape the great tactician, Pioli. I think that with Pioli filling the coaching seat at Al Nasr, it is likely that Al Nasr will experience a significant increase in performance. Because it was proven in his first match coaching Al Nasr, Pioli was able to surprise us all by achieving good results against Al Ettifaq. Apart from that, Pioli doesn't seem to need long to adapt to the Al Nasr players. Because I see that Pioli already knows the potential that the Al Nasr players have and can also create quite good combinations of players. So hopefully under Pioli's leadership Al Nasr can become an even greater team and be able to become champions in various Saudi Arabian and Asian League competitions. Because when Al Nasr was still being trained by Castro, no satisfactory results had been achieved.

[Pandu Geddon]

Odds for Al-Hilal look smaller, because of the reason this match will be their home match and on the other side, they were the dominant team in SPL last season. So I think 3 points will go to Al-Hilal.

in the last few meetings, Al Hilal with Al Ittihad managed to be won by Al Hilal, that's what makes Al Hilal's chances of winning will be greater, besides they will play at home.
plus Al Hilal currently has Aleksandar Mitrovic who is the temporary top scorer in the Saudi Professional League. Ittihad also has a chance I think, they also have Benzema who has currently collected 4 goals in 3 matches.
a match that will be very interesting, both teams are currently at the top of the standings. and the meeting of the two will always be an extraordinary attraction for team supporters.