Al-Nassr host Al-Kholood with Mané in the Saudi title chase
Ange Postecoglou's side sit second, two points behind Al-Hilal, when they meet Al-Kholood at Al-Awwal Park at 19:00 WAT on Thursday. Senegal forward Sadio Mané is part of a squad boosted by Simakan and Ghareeb's returns.
By Emily · 29 Oct 2026, 08:50 WAT
Al-Nassr host Al-Kholood at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on Thursday 29 October in Saudi Pro League matchday 12, with kick-off at 21:00 Saudi time — 19:00 WAT — according to the round schedule published ahead of the fixture.
The defending champions sit second on 25 points from 10 league matches, two behind leaders Al-Hilal and level on points with third-placed Al-Qadsiah, who have played one more game, African Football reported on 28 October. Al-Kholood are ninth on 12 points after four straight league defeats in which they conceded 13 goals, Sports Mole's team-news package said.
For African readers the squad detail is the story. Senegal forward Sadio Mané remains a central figure in Ange Postecoglou's attack alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix in the options the club and preview wires have listed for this home date. France winger Kingsley Coman will miss the match because he is not yet fully fit, African Football said, citing Saudi journalist Ali Al-Enezi a day before kick-off. Defender Mohamed Simakan and winger Abdulrahman Ghareeb are back in the squad after injury, ending a stretch in which both had been unavailable.
Nassr arrive with an unplanned rest. Their AFC Champions League Elite meeting with Al-Wasl was postponed after the Dubai club did not travel, The National reported, removing a midweek continental fixture from a congested run. Postecoglou's side have won their last two league games since the domestic season resumed after the international break, and they remain within striking distance of city rivals Hilal at the top.
Al-Kholood, coached by Des Buckingham, have not won away in five league attempts this season (three draws, two defeats) and sit among the division's softer defensive records on goals conceded, the preview wires said. Nassr have won three and drawn one of their four previous meetings with Kholood.
TuSport will report the result once it is confirmed. Until then the desk angle for Nigerian and African audiences is clear: Mané's Al-Nassr are two points off the Saudi summit, with Simakan restored and Coman still out, on a Thursday night that lands at 19:00 WAT — not a wire rewrite of the Ronaldo headline alone.
Sources: www.thenationalnews.com · african.football · www.sportsmole.co.uk · english.ajel.sa
