Al-Nassr can still end this season on a high note by beating Al-Khaleej to keep its King Cup dream alive
A place in the 2024 King Cup final is at stake as Al-Nassr hopes to topple Al-Khaleej for the second time in only a matter of days and keep alive its bid to end this season with some sort of silverware. The Knights of Najd lifted the Arab Club Champions Cup back in August 2023, but triumph in the King Cup would represent an even more respectable triumph for Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. And Luis Castro’s men are fortunate to have winning experience in this matchup already, having only just bested Al-Khaleej to cement second place in the Saudi Pro League, where they’ve now won six in a row.
How to Watch Al-Nassr vs. Al-Khaleej Today
Game Date: May 1, 2024
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET
Game Venue: Al Awal Park at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV: FOX Sports 2
Live stream the Al-Nassr vs. Al-Khaleej game on Fubo: Start your free trial now!
Ronaldo, 39, returned to the Al-Nassr line-up on Saturday following suspension but was unable to find the back of the net in Dammam.
It was there Al-Khaleej managed to keep its guests at bay for more than an hour before former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte found the back of the net with a pinpoint header:
Al-Nassr was already guaranteed a top-three league finish and a place in next season’s AFC Champions League prior to that fixture, further reinforcing its place at second in the table.
The title still looks out of reach, however, as Al-Hilal boasts a nine-point lead at the summit, not to mention having a game in hand over Castro & Co.
Al-Khaleej manager Pedro Emanuel will be a familiar face to Ronaldo considering the pair were once adversaries in Portugal’s top flight near the turn of the century.
It was all the way back in 2002 that former Porto center-back Emanuel first came up against the teenage Ronaldo and bested the Sporting CP prodigy twice in as many meetings.
Emanuel also came up against Ronaldo in 2004 during the latter’s early days at Manchester United, though the five-time Ballon d’Or-winner holds the keys to victory these days.
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