Cristiano Ronaldo returns from a well publicised trip to the United States, where he met with President Donald Trump, to his day-job of leading the Al Nassr juggernaut. And some unstoppable force they have been this season -- across the first eight games of the SPL, they have scored 26 goals, conceded just seven and are the only team in the league with a perfect record. With Marcelo Brozovic back to full fitness, their midfield looks impenetrable again, though a doubt to standout defender Inigo Martinez will give opponents Al Khaleej some hope.
Led by the goalscoring heroics of Joshua King (9 this season already), Al Khaleej will feel they can keep the scoring up against anyone. This season, they've scores 21 goals (albeit conceding 11). and have already held champions Al Ittihad to an entertaining 4-4 draw. They've not got a point off Al Nassr in their last five matches, though, and they have their work cut out to change that skewed head-to-head record on Sunday.
Here's everything you need to know about the clash:
How to watch:
The match will be available on ESPN Africa across Sub-Saharan Africa and FanCode in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Note: How to tune in to ESPN -- ESPN: DStv 218, StarTimes 248 and ESPN2: DStv 219, StarTimes 249
Key Details:
Date: Sunday, Nov 23 at 7.30 p.m. CAT (8.30 p.m. Saudi; 11 p.m. IST)
Venue: Al Awwal Park, Riyadh
Expected Lineups:
Al Nassr
GK: Bento
RB: Nawaf Boushal | CB: Mohamed Simakan | CB: Inigo Martinez | LB: Aiman Yahya
DM: Angelo Gabriel | DM: Marcelo Brozovic
RW: Kingsley Coman | AM: Joao Felix | LW: Sadio Mane
CF: Cristiano Ronaldo
Al Khaleej
GK: Anthony Moris
RB: Saeed Al Hamsal | CB: Bart Schenkeveld | CB: Mohammed Khubrani | LB: Rebocho
RM: Georgios Masouras | CM: Dimitros Kourbelis | CM: Murad Al Hawsawi | LM: Saleh Al Jamaan
AM: Kostas Fortounis
CF: Joshua King
Stats:
The top three scorers of the SPL will be in action on Sunday: Joao Felix (10 goals) leads Cristiano Ronaldo and Joshua King (both 9 each) in what looks like it'll be a tight race.
Ronaldo is on 953 goals and counting... will he continue to edge closer to 1000?
Al Khaleej midfielder Kostas Fortounis leads the assists charts with eight, that's three more than Al Nassr's Kingsley Coman (and high-flying Al Tawoun's Angelo Fulgini).
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