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Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start when Al-Nassr travel to face rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday (April 18). They will be looking to return to winning ways after picking up a 0-0 draw against Al-Feiha last time around.
Al-Nassr decided to sack their manager, Rudi Garcia, following their draw against Al-Feiha in their previous league game. The Riyadh-based side is now managed by their former youth manager, Dinko Jelicic.
Despite the change in management, Cristiano Ronaldo should keep his place in the starting XI for their game against Al-Hilal. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has now played the full 90 minutes in the last 10 games in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo has been his side's leading attacker since his free transfer back in late 2022. The former Manchester United forward could be partnered alongside the likes of Talisca and Abdulrahman Ghareeb. The trio played together in their previous game against Al-Feiha but failed to score a single goal on that occasion.
The draw, however, had huge implications as far as the title race is concerned. More dropped points meant that Al-Nassr are now three points behind league leaders Al-Ittihad. At the time of writing, they have 53 points from 23 games in the league.
Al-Hilal, on the other hand, are fourth in the standings, having amassed 46 points from 24 games. They are currently on a three-match winless streak, having suffered two defeats in those three outings. Al-Hilal suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Al-Batin last time around.
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a total of five goalless games for Al-Nassr this season
It is worth mentioning that the game against Al-Feiha was the fifth time Cristiano Ronaldo went without scoring a goal in the league. Despite this stat, the Portuguese forward has been prolific in front of goal in other games.
As things stand, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 11 goals from 10 games in the Saudi Pro League so far this season. This includes two hat-tricks along the way.
Ronaldo netted his first hat-trick for Al-Nassr against Al-Wehda back in early February. The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward netted four goals on that occasion. He scored his second hat-trick just two games later against Damac FC.
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently Al-Nassr's second-highest goalscorer this season. He trails fellow attacker Talisca by six goals. The Brazilian forward has scored 17 goals for Dinko Jelicic's side this season.
