Al-Hilal vs Al-Nassr

Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium sets the stage for a mouth-watering Saudi Arabia’s Super Cup semi-final tie between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.

Al-Hilal’s all-conquering side could be on the verge of a historic campaign after securing a title-clinching lead at the Saudi Pro League’s table summit and reaching the AFC Champions League semi-finals at the expense of fierce domestic rivals Al-Ittihad. They’ll face the same opposition in the King Cup semis, meaning Jorge Jesus’ men could be in for an unprecedented ‘quadruple.’ Advancing into the Super Cup final is not a mere formality, as their outrageous run of 32 consecutive wins in all competitions might suggest. They’re up against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, a side they defeated by 2+ goals ‘to nil’ in both league encounters in 2023. But given their opponents’ stature, the runaway Saudi Pro League leaders can’t take anything for granted, even though they’ve scored 3+ goals in five of their six domestic wins since the start of March.

With nothing but pride left to play for in the Saudi Pro League and dumped out of the Champions League, Al-Nassr must make the most out of this tie to salvage a disastrous season. Lifting the King Cup trophy is another avenue, but Ronaldo and his teammates will seek revenge after going winless in their last five competitive meetings with Al-Hilal (D1, L4). They’ve gone from strength to strength since suffering continental elimination Al-Ain, winning four successive domestic match-ups by a combined score of 15-1! While scoring shouldn’t be a problem for Luis Castro’s side, fending off Al-Hilal might, considering they’ve conceded 2+ goals in their last five H2Hs across all competitions. But back-to-back clean sheets in the lead-up to this contest can inspire confidence around the Global One’s camp.