After Cristiano Ronaldo sat out Al Nassr's opening match of the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite campaign a fortnight ago, all eyes will be on them when they return to continental action on Monday at home to Qatar's Al Rayyan.
The Saudi Pro League giants were unable to kick things off with victory back on Sept. 16 as they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Al Shorta -- relinquishing a 14th-minute lead handed to them by Sultan Al-Ghannam just ten minutes later and then failing to genuine the opposition goal for the remainder of the contest.
That evening, Ronaldo was absent through illness but he has started and scored penalties in both their league outings since -- against Al Ettifaq and Al Wehda -- while being rested in a midweek King's Cup against second-tier Al Hazem.
It will be interesting to see if Ronaldo will make his continental bow for the season on Monday especially considering Al Nassr lacked a cutting edge last time out against Al Shorta, despite still boasting plenty of firepower up front in the likes of Sadio Mané, Anderson Talisca and the up-and-coming Abdulrahman Ghareeb.
Monday's tie against Al Rayyan will also mark the first continental outing for new Al Nassr coach Stefano Pioli, who replaced Luis Castro after the draw in their last ACL Elite outing and has promptly led them to three straight victories to revive their season.
Al Nassr were the only one from Saudi Arabia's representatives that failed to begin their ACL Elite campaign with a win but Al Ahli will be another side hoping for improvement when they visit Al Wasl of United Arab Emirates.
A dominant win over Persepolis looked on the cards two weeks ago when Franck Kessié fired them ahead inside the opening two minutes, but it was not long before the Iranian visitors forced their way into the contest.
Ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy was required to make a handful of smart saves to keep the opposition at bay, before Riyad Mahrez then spurned an excellent opportunity to effectively kill off the contest when he had a penalty saved.
Ultimately, the win was still a positive start but Al Ahli will be aware they can certainly fare better for all the talent at their disposal, which also others such as Roberto Firmino, Ivan Toney and Merih Demiral.
The one Saudi Arabian outfit that did not fail to live up to expectations in the opening round of fixtures were unsurprisingly Al Hilal.
As the tournament's record four-time champions, Al Hilal are proven performers on the continent's biggest stage and have coped admirably well in the long-term absence of Neymar -- who is edging ever so closer to full fitness after almost a year on the sidelines.
Fielding a starting XI that had just two non-foreigners, Al Hilal overpowered Al Rayyan in a 3-1 triumph a fortnight ago.
There was a first goal for João Cancelo since his move from Manchester City, while a fellow big name in Sergej Milinković-Savić also got on the scoresheet.
But the one who arguably shone the brightest that evening was the lesser-known Marcos Leonardo, who is still only 21 but was already playing for Portuguese Liga powerhouses Benfica before being lured to the SPL.
Like Neymar, Marcos Leonardo is also a Santos academy graduate and his dynamic display as in the No. 10 role against Al Rayyan suggests he could develop into a genuine playmaking talent -- one who may be good enough to be his compatriot's long-term successor not just for club but also country.