Tables turned: Al Nassr meet Al Hilal in Capital Derby knowing only win matters

Jorge Jesus’ first game back at Kingdom Arena was always going to be a charged affair given his history as Al Hilal’s most recent title-winning manager.

Having assumed the reins at Al Nassr during the off-season, the encounter was already circled in the calendar as must-watch, as is every Capital Derby. For good reason, it’s considered one of the blue-chip events of the Roshn Saudi League season.

That became even more so after Al Nassr’s flying start to the 2025-26 RSL, when they entered the record books as the first club in the Saudi Pro League era to win their opening 10 games.

With their remarkable run, which carried Al Nassr to the top of the table, it created a small buffer to the chasing pack. Those hunters were headed by, none other than, Al Hilal.

Cristiano Ronaldo was turning back the clock with outrageous and audacious overhead-kicks, while debutant Joao Felix was looking every bit the player he was expected to be.

Already, people were positing whether Jesus could win the league undefeated once more, just as he did with Al Hilal only two seasons ago.

The mood around Al Nassr was euphoric, and it felt like all the pieces were finally coming together after a frustrating few seasons in which they had gone close, but not close enough, to landing a first top-flight title since 2018-19.

Had the season’s opening Capital Derby taken place a few weeks’ back, the narrative would have been very different indeed. Chiefly, it would've centred on if Al Hilal could keep touch with an unstoppable Al Nassr, lest their rivals open a commanding league at the summit.

Pardon the pun, but how the tables have turned - and in merely a matter of weeks.

Remarkably, Al Nassr, who looked close to invincible in the opening 10 rounds, are winless in their past three league outings and have surrendered top spot to Al Hilal, who have now opened a four-point lead of their own.

Suddenly, all the pressure appears to be on Al Nassr. Thus, anything less than victory at Kingdom Arena on Monday night would represent a significant blow to their championship aspirations.

While not fatal - should they draw, the gap will remain at four points, in theory a small enough margin to turn around with more than half the season remaining - the psychological knock from failing to prevail could be considerable.

With only days between matches after their loss to Al Qadsiah at home last time out, Jesus has had limited time to diagnose where things are going wrong at Al Nassr. The first thing to note, however, is that their once-impenetrable defence has started leaking goals.

Having conceded five times in the first 10 RSL matches, Al Nassr have shipped seven in their past three, including some uncharacteristically sloppy ones.

Take, for example, the opening goal for Al Qadsiah at Al Awwal Park, when Julian Quinones charged down goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aqidi some way outside his penalty area. The Saudi Arabia No.1’s attempted chip over his Mexican rival instead rebounded off Quinones, allowing him to race away and stroke into an empty net.

Probably, the absence of centre-back Mohamed Simakan, who has been sidelined since the end of November with a hamstring injury, is perhaps being felt more sorely than first anticipated.

The good news for Jesus, though, is that the Frenchman has fully recovered and will be available for Monday’s clash. That will provide a much-needed boost for Al Nassr as they look for any bit of positive news heading into what promises to be a titanic tussle as the shadow of Al Hilal looms large.

The mental aspect to this derby is as intriguing as the tactical battle on the pitch. In recent seasons, Al Hilal have had enjoyed the superiority against their fiercest Riyadh rivals. When it has mattered most, the 2023-24 RSL champions have always managed to find a way to get the job done.

In Al Hilal’s title-winning season, Al Nassr completed a campaign that smashed all previous records and would’ve won every RSL on record. But, still, Al Hilal did it better, going undefeated to land the league trophy.

Be it on the continent, or in the King’s Cup or Super Cup, the record four-time Asian champions have had Al Nassr’s measure for the majority recently. And, like a Blue Shark circling their prey, they smell blood and are ready to go in for the kill.

The question that this derby will answer is whether Al Nassr have what it takes to turn themselves from prey into predator.

With the context of the league as it is, it’s hard to imagine this Capital Derby being any more important or any more consequential. Even at this stage of the season, this feels as big as it gets.