RIYADH: Al-Nassr will take on Foolad Khuzestan FC in their third AFC Champions League Group D clash with a much-weakened side after it was confirmed on Monday that five players had tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The two teams are tied on four points with Al-Nassr leading on goal difference but with only the group winners assured of advancing to the Round of 16, Tuesday night’s match is one that the Saudi team cannot afford to lose at King Saud University Stadium.
Despite dominating their group opener against Al-Wehdat last week, Al-Nassr had to settle for a 0-0 draw, but then came storming back in their second match on Saturday with a fine 3-1 win over recently crowned Qatari champions Al-Sadd SC.
Al-Nassr’s new coach Mano Menezes, who took charge of the team for the first time against Al-Sadd, now has the immediate challenge of picking his best side in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak.
“We will monitor the performance of the players (in training), and then we will select the starting 11 that will benefit the team,” the former Brazil manager told the AFC official website.
“We do have five cases. All teams should be aware of coronavirus cases, and we from our side will do our best to make up for the absent players.
“Every match has been different. We played the last two matches with two different styles. (In the previous match) we defended in the first half, then we attacked more in the second half, and now we are looking to find the best way to approach the next match.
“We prepare for each match with different methods. If the opposing team plays defensively then we will try to find offensive solutions,” he said.
Foolad, appearing in the AFC Champions League for the first time in six years, were denied a famous win over Al-Sadd in their group opener after the 2011 champions salvaged a last-gasp 1-1 draw, but the Iranian team recovered well to beat Al-Wehdat 1-0.
Head coach Jesus Javier Noble knows a victory will make his team favorites to win the group.
Speaking to the AFC website, he said: “We will face another big team tomorrow. We are playing in a strong competition, and every match is difficult, and we consider Al-Nassr to be the strongest team in the group.
“The winners from this match will have a strong chance of qualifying from the group, so this match is very important for us, as well as for Al-Nassr,” added the Spaniard, who expects Al-Nassr to go for all-out attack.
“Al-Nassr didn’t get good results in the local league, and this will give them the motivation to make up and get good results in this competition. We saw the first two matches of Al-Nassr, and they controlled the proceedings,” Noble said.
