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The conflict between the poles of the capital, Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr, is renewed on Saturday (9:15 p.m. UAE time), when they meet at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh for the Saudi Football Super Cup.
Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr play the match that has met every year since 2013 (not in 2017) between the League and Cup champions for the fourth time, as the first had already participated in the years 2015, 2016 and 2018, and the second in 2014, 2015 and 2020.
The two teams have met twice already this season, the first in the league and Al-Hilal won it 2-0, while it was the second in the Copa del Rey final and Al-Hilal also won it 2-1.
As for the Super Cup, they met once, in 2015, which ended with Al Hilal winning with a clear goal.
Both teams are present in this year’s game after Al Hilal won the League and Copa del Rey, while Al-Nasr took second place in both championships.
Al-Hilal is eager to reach the local treble and annex the Super Cup to the League and Copa del Rey, while Al-Nasr aspires to be rehabilitated after losing the Cup final and winning the Super Cup for the second time in a row.
Romanian coach Hilal Razvan Lucescu has confirmed his side are “ready for the Super Cup game” as part of their drive to take up all the local titles of the past season.
“Today we have the opportunity and we have to be at the best level,” he added.
Al-Hilal currently leads the league with 30 points, which has earned him the “honorary” winter title, but his level has declined significantly in recent times, and only won when of the last nine out of two matches, against a draw in five and a loss in two, including one in the King’s Cup competition, which he left in his first round.
Lucescu explained, “We know the winning game will not be easy,” as the latter will be looking for revenge in this game, given what the Blue team achieved against the Yellows in the last period.
The participation of defender Mutaib Al-Mafarrej, who missed Al-Hilal’s training on Thursday due to his hamstring injury, has not been decided.
“The match is important for the players because it’s a derby besides being a final match, but for me it’s a tournament and I’m trying to achieve it,” added Lucescu.
Al-Hilal is hoping to be present in all technical and physical aspects to add another title to his championship-packed record, especially as he enters the game with full ranks.
After a negative start in the league, Al-Nassr began to gradually regain his balance, succeeding, under the leadership of his Croatian coach Aline Horvat, in sixth place at the end of the first section with 21 points, after being in the penultimate position at the end of the tenth stage.
Horvat underlined his effort to “continue the winning streak” he has achieved with the team, adding: “The victory will live up to the responsibility in Al Hilal’s game, and we are ready for such event, and are ready for any challenge. “
“Whatever the outcome, when the players perform at their best and look good, I will consider myself a winner.”
The yellow team have not suffered any defeats in the last eight matches, having won six, including one in the Copa del Rey, and tied in two matches, and are looking to continue their positive results and win the cup.
Despite the circumstances he is currently facing, represented in his Brazilian defender refraining from training regularly, and the injury of his left defender Abdul Rahman Al-Obaid, alongside Argentina’s Betty Martinez and Abdel Fattah Asiri, whose participation is still uncertain after their return from injury, but Al-Nasr are looking to continue their distinguished results in recent times and confirm their awakening by beating traditional rivals.
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