Al-Nassr return to action in the AFC Champions League when they take on the Iranian team Esteghlal Tuesday at Al-Rashid Stadium.

The most recent meeting between the two teams took place in this competition in May 2011, when Farhad Majidi And Hawar Mulla Mohammed scored goals in the second half to give the Capital Blues a 2-1 comeback win in Group B.

Match example

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Esteghlal were sent back down to earth in the new Iranian Pro League campaign as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Zob Ahan on Friday when the two sides met at the Shahre Qods Stadium.

After a relatively quiet first half, Majid Aliyari put in an impressive individual performance as he scored either side Omid Latifi‘s 70th minute strike to inspire Zob Ahan to a comfortable victory and leave the Capital Blues empty-handed.

Before that, Esteghlal broke their run of four consecutive league games without a win on October 5, when they defeated Havadar 2–1 thanks to goals in the first half of Rafael Silva And Mehrdad Mohammadi.

Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh‘s men, who sit 11th in the Pro League with eight points from their opening seven games, now turn their focus to the AFC Champions League, where they have split the results in their opening two games in the West.

Esteghlal kicked off the 2024/25 Champions League season with an emphatic 3-0 win over Al-Gharafa on September 16, two weeks before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat to Al-Sadd in the second of two successive clashes against the Qatar-based country. sides.

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Al-Nassr, on the other hand, continued their rise to the top of the Saudi Pro League standings as they recorded a 2-1 victory over Al-Shabab at the Al-Shabab Club Stadium.

Ali Al-Hassan scored an own goal in the 90th minute to cancel this out Aymeric Laporte‘s 69th minute opener, and beyond Christiano Ronaldo kept his cool to convert his 97th minute penalty to put the visitors ahead for the second time in the match, Al-Shabab man Abderrazak Hamdallah failed to score from the opposite penalty spot in the 13th minute of stoppage time.

Al-Nassr have now recorded six wins in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory over Al Hazem in the King’s Cup Round of 32 on September 23, and are unbeaten in 10 straight matches, with seven wins and three draws. since a 4-1 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Super Cup on August 17.

The Global One, which is currently in third place and four points away from first place the Pro League rankingsnow return to action in the Championship League, having taken four points from their opening two games.

After a somewhat disappointing 1–1 draw against Al-Shorta in their group opener on 16 September, goals from Sadio Mane and Ronaldo watched Al-Nassr take maximum points two weeks later when they beat Al-Rayyan 2-1 at Al-Awwal Park.

Next for Stefano Pioli‘s men face the challenge of an opponent they met in the Champions League in 2011, when the two teams shared results in their two Group B meetings.

Al-Nassr fought back from behind to secure a 2–1 home win in their first match on March 15 thanks to goals from Hussein Abdul Ghani And Abdulrahman Al Qahtanitwo months before losing 2-1 in the return match.

Esteghlal AFC Champions League Form:

Esteghlal form (all competitions):

Al-Nassr AFC Champions League Form:

Al-Nassr form (all competitions):

Team news

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Esteghlal will take the field without the duo Mehdi Mehdipour and defender Abolfazl Jalaliwhich were excluded due to cruciate ligament and hamstring injuries, respectively.

Imam Salimi has been out of action since coming off injured against Al-Sadd in September and will play no role in Tuesday’s match Roozbeh Cheshmi is currently recovering from a tibia and fibula injury.

With his winner against Al-Shabab on Friday, Ronaldo scored his 907th career goal and his 12th for club and country in 14 games this season, and the 39-year-old will be looking to get the good results again.

He should be joined in the Al-Nassr attack by Anderson Talisca, Angelo and former Liverpool striker Mane, when we should be seeing a foursome of them Salem AlnajdiLaporte, Mohammed Simakan, Nawaf Boushal.

In terms of injuries, Pioli cannot call on the 27-year-old’s services Sami Al-Najeiwho is on the sidelines for an extended period after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in August.

Esteghlal possible starting lineup:
Khaledabadi; Moradmand, Silva, Fallah: Rezaeian, Kakuta, N’Dong, Zakipour; Eslami, Mohammadi, Blanco

Possible starting line-up of Al-Nassr:
Salem Alnajdi, Laporte, Sikiman, Boushal; Brozovic, Alchaibari; Mane, Talisca, Angelo; Ronaldo

We say: Esteghlal 1-3 Al-Nassr

While Esteghlal will look to find their feet and get their Champions League campaign underway on Tuesday, they have their work cut out for them against a high-flying Al-Nassr side who will be aiming to top the table in the West.

Pioli’s men are firing on all cylinders at the moment, and with Ronaldo showing no signs of slowing down, we’re backing them to come away with all three points at the Al-Rashid Stadium.

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