The French coach Laurent Blanc has settled on excluding Albanian Mario Metai from the team list that will face Al-Nassr on Friday at the "Al-Inma" stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, as part of the fourth round of the Roshen Saudi League.

According to informed sources, Blanc preferred to include eight foreign players at once, led by Karim Benzema, Moussa Diaby, N'Golo Kante, and Houssem Aouar, in addition to Danilo Pereira, Predrag Rajkovic, Fabinho, and Steven Bergwijn, to strengthen the core strength of the team.

Benzema received the green light from the medical staff after passing a rehabilitation program in France following his muscle injury, allowing him to return to the match atmosphere in a highly anticipated match against Al-Nassr.

On the other hand, Ittihad will be missing both right-back Muhannad Al-Shanqiti and his teammate Hassan Kadhesh due to recent injuries, which reduces the defensive options for the French coach.

Meanwhile, Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus of Al-Nassr is considering choosing between Brazilian goalkeeper Pinto and Saudi counterpart Raghid Al-Najjar for the goalkeeping position, after giving both an opportunity to participate in the last training session.

In the remaining positions, Jesus plans to rely on Marcelo Brozovic and João Félix in midfield while waiting for a decision regarding the third element, while the attack will be led by the trio of Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman, and Sadio Mane in an attempt to continue their winning streak.

Al-Nassr tops the standings with a total of nine points from three consecutive victories, surpassing Ittihad by goal difference only, reflecting the fierce competition between the two major clubs since the beginning of the season.