0Cristiano Ronaldo remains the focal point as Al Nassr FC begin their 2026-27 AFC Champions League Elite campaign against familiar opponents Al Ain on Tuesday, September 15. The Portuguese superstar has started the new season strongly, recently scoring his 979th career goal in Al Nassr’s 2-1 win over Abha.
The Saudi champions now return to Asia’s top club competition, with Ronaldo chasing the major continental title that has eluded him during his time in Saudi Arabia.
Al Ain vs Al Nassr: AFC Champions League Elite
The Al Ain vs Al Nassr AFC Champions League Elite fixture will be played at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, with Al Nassr entering the continental campaign after a strong domestic run.
The Saudi side have won four of their last five matches, while Al Ain have gone unbeaten across their recent five games.
Al Nassr Team News & Injury Updates
Ange Postecoglou has a formidable attacking set-up spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane. Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman are also there.
Al Nassr’s squad has also been strengthened by the presence of Mohamed Simakan, Inigo Martinez and goalkeeper Bento. Sultan Al-Ghannam, however, remains unavailable for the ACL game through injury.
Al Ain eliminated Al Nassr in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League quarter-finals, winning the first leg 1-0 before progressing on penalties after the return match finished 4-4 on aggregate.
Al Ain vs Al Nassr: Is Cristiano Ronaldo Playing Today?
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to play for Al Nassr against Al Ain. The 41-year-old has been central to the club’s attack this season and has already scored three Saudi Pro League goals. His latest strike against Abha took his career tally to 979 goals.
Al-Nassr Starting XI vs Al Ain (Predicted)
Bento, Nawaf Al-Boushail, Mohamed Simakan, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Inigo Martinez, Angelo Gabriel, Marcelo Brozovic, Sadio Mane, Kingsley Coman, Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo
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