Al Nassr vs Gamba Osaka Preview
Al Nassr are winning machines and have home advantage in the AFC Champions League 2 final. Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to step up and help his side beat and inferior Gamba Osaka side in Riyadh.
HTH
This will be the first match between Al Nassr and Gamba Osaka.
Al Nassr Poised to do the Double
Al Nassr went on a 20 match winning streak this year. They crushed Al Ahli Doha 5-1 to reach the AFC Champions League 2 final, Kingsley Coman hitting a hat-trick.
The streak came to an end after a 3-1 defeat at Al Qadsiah before a 4-2 win at Al Shabab brought the title within their grasp.
Jorge Jesus’ side will have to wait a while longer after a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal. Mohamed Simakan’s goal put them ahead before Bento’s blunder deep into added time postponed the celebrations.
Gamba Osaka Face Tough Task in Riyadh
Gamba Osaka haven’t won back to back games since February. They lost 1-0 against Bangkok United in the AFC Champions League semi-final first leg before a 3-0 victory in Thailand.
Jens Wissing’s side sit third in the J1 League West, winning just four of their 17 matches. They lost 2-1 at Nagoya in their previous away game, Rin Mito’s 95th minute goal too little too late.
The Japanese side are coming off a 1-0 defeat against Hiroshima. Gamba had 0.77-1.42 xG and no excused in their third home defeat in six games.
Predicted Lineups & Team News
Al Nassr (4-4-2) Bento; Sultan Al-Ghanam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Mohamed Simakan, Inigo Martínez; Kingsley Coman, Abdullah Al Khaibari, Marcelo Brozovic, Sadio Mane; Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo
Angelo remains doubtful here with Kingsley Coman set to continue on the right wing. Sultan Al-Ghanam and Abdullah Al Khaibari are options to come into the starting side for Nawaf Boushal and Ali Al Hassan.
Gamba Osaka (4-2-3-1) Masaaki Higashiguchi; Takeru Kishimoto, Genta Miura, Ginjiro Ikegaya, Ryo Hatsuse; Shuto Abe, Rin Mito; Ryoya Yamashita, Issam Jebali, Welton; Deniz Hummet
Goalkeeper Jun Ichimori is out alongside centre-backs Shota Fukuoka and Shogo Sasaki. Striker Asahi Uenaka has a meniscus injury with Deniz Hummet to lead the line.