Saudi Arabia vs Nigeria: Preview, team news and predictions

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to take on Saudi Arabia in an international friendly match at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao in Portugal on Friday, October 13.

The West African team will be playing against the oil-rich nation as part of their preparation for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and their forthcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe next month.

Saudi Arabia are also in preparations for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and will be in a fresh aura as they have a new manager in the person of the legendary Roberto Mancini.

The Super Eagles are coming off a convincing 6-0 win in their last AFCON qualifiers when they thrashed Sao Tome and Principle at the Godswil Akpabio Stadium in Uyo and will be hoping to extend their three-game consecutive wins, although they haven’t won their last three international friendlies with the last being a 1-0 loss against Portugal before the 2022 World Cup.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, will be hoping to avoid a seventh consecutive loss when they take on Nigeria. At their last outing, they fell to South Korea by a lone goal at the St. James Park, to add to a series of loss against Costa Rica, Bolivia, Venezuela, Oman and Iran earlier.

Form: Saudi Arabia vs Nigeria
Saudi Arabia : LLLLL
Nigeria : WWWLL

Jose Peseiro will be missing several essential Nigerian team members due to injuries. Both Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina from Nottingham Forest had to pull out from the squad. They were substituted by Sadiq Umar and Tyronne Ebuehi, respectively.

On a positive note, on-form strikers Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface will be available for the game. Fulham’s Alex Iwobi is also making a comeback to the team after being sidelined in the previous matches due to injury.

Saudi Arabia have a complete squad which consists primarily of players from their local league, among them Salem Al-Dawsari, their leading goal-scorer with 21 goals in 78 matches.

Predictions – Saudi Arabia vs Nigeria

The last meeting between Saudi Arabia and Nigeria was in 2010 and it ended in a draw. This time, the Super Eagles are in a fine shape and will acknowledge that Saudi Arabia will pose a great threat.

So, Nigeria might walk away with a win this time.

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