Al Nassr vs Inter Miami Preview
Saudi Pro League (SPL) giants Al Nassr will host Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Inter Miami in the Riyadh Seasons Cup on Thursday, February 1. This will be a midseason friendly tournament for the SPL, and a preseason tournament for the MLS.
The hosts enter this contest on the back of a decent end to the first half of their campaign. Al Nassr are second in the SPL with 46 points from 19 games and are seven points behind leader Al Hilal. Having earned 67 points throughout a 30-game season last time, the club are well placed to match or even surpass that tally. However, they ended 2023 in style, recording five wins on the bounce across competitions. They also hit 21 goals in that phase and will look to pick up where they left off in the next game.
Miami, on the other hand, ended the 2023 MLS season in rather poor fashion. The David Beckham co-owned club only finished 27th in the combined standings, with 34 points from as many games. To add to that, Gerardo Martino’s men have failed to register a single win in their last 10 games, including six defeats and four draws. Their last outing against Dallas was their first preseason game ahead of the 2024 campaign. However, Miami will look to perform better than they did in that 1-0 defeat.
On that note, let’s take a look at the team news for both sides.
Team News & Probable Lineups
Al Nassr
As per Transfermarkt, Al Nassr will carry a clean slate for both injuries and suspensions into this game. Manager Luis Castro will have a full-strength squad at his disposal and will likely go with his strongest XI for this game.
It will also give the players a chance to stretch their legs after a nearly month-long sabbatical from playing.
Probable XI: Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Aymeric Laporte, Alex Telles, Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic, Anderson Talisca, Otavio, Sadio Mane, Cristiano Ronaldo (C).
Inter Miami
The Miami-based side will be without defenders Franco Negri (June, ’23) and Ian Fray (June, ’23), as well as forward Corentin Jean (July ’23), who are all out long-term with cruciate ligament injuries. Attacking midfielder Facundo Farias was unfortunately the latest to join that list and picked up the same injury earlier this month.
Manager Gerardo Martino too will go with his strongest lineup for this game considering they will look to make a strong start to the 2024 MLS season.
Probable XI: Drake Callender (GK), Noah Allen, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Tomas Aviles, DeAndre Yedlin, Jordi Alba, Julian Gressel, Sergio Busquets, David Ruiz, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi (C).
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Al Nassr vs Inter Miami Head-to-Head & Prediction
Considering that the aforementioned clubs play in different leagues on different continents, they have never previously matched up against each other. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since they were founded.
However, visitors Inter Miami seem to be in a spot of bother and could struggle against an Al Nassr side that will be playing in familiar home conditions as well. Additionally, all of the hosts’ players will have had adequate rest in the build-up to this friendly tournament.
Considering the form Al Nassr are in in front of goal, they look to be in pole position to take the win, and comfortable at that.
Prediction: Al Nassr 3-2 Inter Miami.
Betting Tips
- Cristiano Ronaldo to Score Anytime: Yes.
- Both Teams to Score: Yes.
- Al Nassr to Win: Yes.
Odds (Subject to Change)
- Al Nassr Win: 2.38
- Draw: 3.50
- Inter Miami Win: 2.30
Top Players to Watch
Al Nassr
Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will inevitably be in the spotlight. It will be both for his fan-following as well as his talent, with the most goal contributions for Al Nassr halfway through the campaign. Anderson Talisca in second place has 14 fewer than his Portuguese teammate.
Ronaldo has been in scintillating form this season, despite being at the ripe age of 38 years. He has scored a remarkable 24 goals and also provided 11 assists in just 25 games across competitions this season. Of those, 20 goals have come in just 18 SPL appearances.
Coming up against his old foe Lionel Messi, Ronaldo will definitely look to put his best foot forward despite the match being termed a friendly.
Inter Miami
Much like Al Nassr, Inter Miami too will have its own superstar in the form of Lionel Messi to attract the spotlight. The Argentine will look to put in a strong performance in possibly one of the last competitive meetings between him and Ronaldo.
In 14 appearances for the club so far, Messi has scored 11 goals and provided five assists. He will look to lead the team to a much better finish in the MLS this time around and will look to get his preseason off to a good start against Al Nassr.
Al Nassr vs Inter Miami Timings & Telecast
- Date & Time: Monday, January 29th, 11:30 PM (IST).
- India: There will be no live telecast, but the game will be streamed on Apple TV.
- Saudi Arabia: SHAHID TV.
- UK: Apple TV & DAZN.
- US: MLS Season Pass (Apple TV).