Al-Nassr aims to secure consecutive victories in the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League as they host Al Shabab at Al Awal Park, King Saud University, on matchday four this Tuesday.

Al-Nassr currently holds 10th place in the league with three points from their first three matches, while the visitors, Al Shabab, sit in 14th place with just two points at the start of the season.

Al-Nassr kicked off their season with a positive note, winning the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al Hilal, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a crucial goal in extra time despite being reduced to nine men for most of the final 20 minutes.

However, their league form took a hit as they lost their opening match of the campaign 2-1 to Al Ittifaq and suffered a 2-0 defeat in their first home game against Al Taawoun a week later. Since then, they seem to have regained their form, securing qualification for the AFC Champions League with a 4-2 win over Shabab Al-Ahli in the playoff round and winning 5-0 against Al Fateh on the road last week.

In their last league encounter, Al-Nassr defeated Al Shabab 3-2 at this venue last season and are undefeated in their last four meetings with two wins and two draws, dating back to November 2021.

Al-Nassr finished last season five points behind Al Ittihad and currently trails them by six points this season. They cannot afford to drop more points early in the season.

On the other hand, Al Shabab had a good season last term, finishing fourth for the second consecutive year. They aim to secure an AFC Champions League qualification spot this season.

Under the guidance of Vicente Moreno, they earned 56 points in their 30 matches last season (W17 D5 L8), but they ended the season poorly, suffering four defeats in their final five matches.

Unfortunately, their poor form seems to continue this season under new boss Marcel Keizer, as they have yet to record a win, with 1-1 draws against Al Okhdood and Damak and a 3-1 loss to Al Wehda in his first three matches in charge.

Now, they face an Al-Nassr side that appears to be in excellent form this season. However, if Al Shabab can cause an upset in this match, it might be the spark they need to turn their season around.

Luis Castro’s only injury absence for this match is goalkeeper David Ospina, who has been sidelined since last season with an elbow injury.

Key players to watch include Sadio Mane, who has scored three goals this season and is among the league’s top scorers, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in the last match. Fahad Al-Muwallad, who provided a crucial equalizer off the bench in the previous game, will be eager for a starting spot.

Our prediction: Al-Nassr 3-1 Al Shabab. Recent encounters between these teams have been competitive, but Al-Nassr appears to be in better form in recent weeks, while Al Shabab is struggling. We anticipate a comfortable victory for Al-Nassr in this match.