The Saudi King Cup serves up a final before the final, as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad go head-to-head in the round of 16.

This matchup brings another thrilling showdown between Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The Portuguese superstar has just netted his 950th career goal in a recent Saudi Pro League win over Al Hazm.

As for the French international, he has tallied 3 goals in 6 appearances across all competitions so far this season.

Let’s not forget, Al-Ittihad are the defending champions, having defeated Al-Qadsiyah 3-1 in the 2024-2025 final.

After facing the Al-Hazm in the Saudi Leagueal-nassr turned his attention to the King’s Cup where he challenged Al-Ittihad Jeddah. The historical previous encounters between sets shows that the team of Jorge Jesus and Jeddah’s team met 61 times, with the team of Sergio Conceicao in advantage: 26 victories, contrasting with the 19 triumphs of the Riyadh team.

The last confrontation between the two emblems ended with Al-Nassr winning 2-0. The trend is for a lively challenge between the teams, without a big favorite to ensure victory.

Al Nassr were very disappointed with how they finished third in the league last season in the Saudi Pro League, even after spending so much money recently. This time, they made some further big changes, which included bringing in Jorge Jesus as their head coach, who has a great experience in Saudi football. They also got some top quality players for free and made their squad even more strong.

All of these changes have helped to become a strong team this season, and currently, they are the league leaders. They are undefeated in the league so far and have conceded the least number of goals. They are looking almost invincible right now.

Even though there are a lot of matches left to be played, if they can continue to perform like that, they will easily win the league. Facing Al Ittihad in the King’s Cup of Champions will be a good and challenging test for them.

On the other hand, the defending champions are not able to replicate their last season’s performance this season. Al Ittihad are sitting in seventh place in the league. In six matches, they have won three, drawn once and lost twice.

Recently, they lost to Al Hilal by 0-2, and the players and coaching staff were heavily criticised for their poor performance. If they don’t get good results in the upcoming fixtures, there could be consequences. However, this will be a mouthwatering clash for sure.