JEDDAH: Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal clash today in Riyadh to open their two-legged quarterfinal series in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup of Champions.
Nasr is still without a championship title this season and this tournament offers the team a last chance to have one.
But the prospects don’t look promising with city rival Hilal out to nip Nasr’s ambitions in the bud. Hilal, the Crown Prince Cup champion and runner-up to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Professional League, is looking to add the most important silverware of the football season to its collection.
Nasr’s coach conducted a closed-door training prior to the match. He is keen to correct the flaws in the game of his players, as the team tries to make peace with its demanding fans.
The winner in the Nasr-Hilal tie will advance to the semifinals against the winner of the series between Al-Shabab and Wehda, which go up against each other in Makkah today.
Tariq Al-Tayeb will not start for Hilal but the good news is that veteran goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Daie has recovered from injury sustained in the Ittihad match Sunday and will be joining the team alongside ace striker Yaser Al-Qahtani.
Al-Ittifaq will host the first leg quarterfinal tie against Ittihad in the second match today in Dammam. Like Nasr Ittifaq is trying to avoid a winless season.
But unlike Nasr, Ittifaq could spring some surprise. It eliminated Ittihad from the Crown Prince Cup quarterfinals last season after winning the match 2-1.
The Ittihad coach is likely to introduce new names in the match in order to give a breather to those who worked hard in the league final match the team won against Hilal 2-1.
This is also to give the players some time off before their match in the AFC Champions League next week. Ittihad’s morale is now high now more than ever and it should surprise no one if the Jeddah-based club won this season-ending tournament.
