Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli have confirmed their starting teams for their meeting at Dubai’s Zabeel Stadium in the AFC Champions League Two on Wednesday.
The Saudi Pro League leaders have won all nine of their matches in this season’s competition and are aiming to become its first-ever Saudi champions.
Ninth in the Qatar Stars League, Al-Ahli won two and drew four of their group matches before beating Iranian side Sepahan after extra time in their two-legged last-16 tie and Jordanian Pro League club Al-Hussein in a one-off quarter-final.
101GreatGoals.com has the team news and starting line-ups as Al-Nassr face Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League.
You feel them before you see them 👀 pic.twitter.com/cWAPbrfaN2
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) April 22, 2026
Al Nassr confirmed team vs Al Ahli
Forward Joao Felix was substituted with hamstring pain in the 58th minute of Al-Nassr’s 4-0 quarter-final win against Al-Wasl but starts as part of an unchanged team, as does winger Kingsley Coman, who suffered a bruise ankle and was also substituted early in the second half.
Goalkeeper Mubarak Al-Buainain and midfielder Sami Al-Najei are sidelined with injuries.
Al-Nassr could reach the final of a multi-stage continental tournament for the first time in 28 years. “It’s a semi-final, but it’s like a final and knockout matches are unpredictable,” said coach Jorge Jesus, via Al-Riyadh.
“We’re playing with confidence… we will not change the tactical ideas we started the season with. We respect our opponents; their reaching the semi-finals is no accident.
“They are a respectable team and we are preparing to compete against them on the field. No Saudi team has ever won this tournament before and we have a strong desire to achieve that.”
Al-Nassr starting XI: Bento, Mohamed Simakan, Abdulelah Al Amri, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Nawaf Boushal, Angelo, Kingsley Coman, Inigo Martinez, Joao Felix
Al-Nassr substitutes: Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Nader Al-Sharari, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Saad Al-Nasser, Salem Al-Najdi, Ayman Yahya, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Ali Al-Hassan, Mohammed Hayder, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohammed Marran, Abdullah Al-Hamdan,
Al Ahli full line up vs Al Nassr
Al-Ahli’s unchanged side includes former Nigeria captain and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament William Troost-Ekong in defence and Julian Draxler – a 2014 World Cup winner with Germany and four-time Ligue 1 champions with Paris Saint-Germain – in midfield.
Forward Sekou Yansane is a former PSG prospect and midfielder Driss Fettouhi has been capped by Morocco. Centre-back Robin Tihi made an appearance for Finland in 2023.
“We are fully prepared and we are looking to deliver a strong performance against formidable opponents who have many well-known names in world football,” said coach and former Qatar international Younes Ali, via the Qatar Tribune.
“But we also have a high ambition to make a significant impact… our strikers have high technical ability.
“They played a remarkable game in the quarter-final, created many chances and faced a goalkeeper who made several saves. I believe we will be more clinical against Al-Nassr.
“I am not worried about missed chances as long as we continue to perform well and create opportunities… [it] will be difficult and different from the previous [round], given the strength of the opponents and the quality of their players.
“I expect few scoring chances but we will be ready for the challenge.”
Draxler predicted a “tough” task against an Al-Nasssr side with “a lot of big players – most of whom I already know from my time in Europe”.
“We have nothing to lose,” added the 2013/14 Bundesliga Player of the Season with Schalke (via AFC). “We are in the semi-finals, so let’s see what we can do.”
Al-Ahli starting XI: Marwan Badreldin, William Troost-Ekong, Ibrahima Diallo, Julian Draxler, Driss Fettouhi, Sekou Yansane, Erik Exposito, Michel Vlap, Robin Tihi, Aboubacar Doumbouya, Ayoub Amraoui
Al-Ahli substitutes: Yazan Naim, Islam Yassine, Talal Al Shila, Hilal Mohammed, Othman Alawi, Hamad Mansour, Mohammed Abdulla Al Ishaq, Khaled Radwan, Suhaib Gannan, Ahmed Reyad, Younis Abdelrahman, Nasser Ibrahim
Where to watch Al Nassr vs Al Ahli: TV channel, live online streams
The match kicks off at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET / 09:00 PT) on Friday. In the UK, the tie is live on The AFC Hub.
Al Nassr vs Al Ahli stats
- No-one still involved in this season’s competition has scored more goals than Al-Ahli’s Michel Vlap (6), with Tampines Rovers’ Trent Buhagiar (8) the only player to have netted more times overall
- Japanese side Gamba Osaka, who await the winners in the final on May 17, are the only club apart from these teams to have gone unbeaten during the 2025/26 AFC Champions League Two group stage
- Only Rovers’ Koya Kazama and Al-Wasl’s Serginho (5 each) have provided more assists in this season’s competition than Draxler and Joao Felix (4 each)
- With 28 goals, Al-Nassr have three more than the next-highest scoring club in the 2025/26 competition, Osaka. Al-Ahli have netted 13 times
- Al-Nassr’s total of seven clean sheets is two more than the team with the next-highest shutouts total, Osaka
- Bangkok United’s Muhsen Al Ghassani (28), Osaka’s Issam Jebali (25), Ratchaburi’s Denilson Junior (23) and Persib’s Uilliam Barros (20) are the only players to have produced more attempts at goal than Al-Ahli’s Erik Exposito (19)
- Al-Ahli (101) are one of six teams to have committed more than 100 fouls in this season’s competition
- Pohang Steelers, who were eliminated in the last 16, are the only team who can match Al-Nassr’s passing accuracy of 89%
- Only Cong An Ha Noi’s Leo Artur and Persib’s Thom Haye (25 each) have created more chances than Fettouhi and Al-Nassr’s Angelo (18 each)
- Aside from Osaka players, Fettouhi has attempted the most passes in the competition (608 – 15 ahead of Bangkok’s Everton)
