Football betting tips: Club World Cup
1.5pts Manchester City to win to nil at 10/11 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
Yes, Manchester City have appeared off it in recent weeks, winning just one of their last six Premier League games, but they head to the Club World Cup with a coach who takes this competition extremely seriously.
This will be the fourth time Pep Guardiola has managed a team in the CWC, and he has won the title on all three previous occasions.
Urawa Red Diamonds won the 2022 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League to qualify for this, and knocked out Mexican CONCACAF Champions League winners León in the last round, but this is a huge step up.
The Japanese side haven't had the best of 2023 campaigns either, knocked out in the group stage of this season's AFC Champions League and finishing only fourth in the J-League.
What are the best bets?
This should be a pretty straightforward game for Manchester City, who are expected to field as strong a side as possible.
Taking MANCHESTER CITY TO WIN TO NIL appeals at a shade of odds-on as, despite their recent run of conceding goals, they are still posting excellent underlying data against better teams than Urawa.
Across their last 10 matches in all competitions, Pep's side have allowed an average of just 1.03 xGA per game, holding Liverpool to 0.55 and Tottenham to 0.54 in that stretch.
Also, interestingly, they have conceded eight shots or fewer in seven of those 10 games, completely stifling Young Boys in the Champions League, with the Swiss side failing to register a single attempt.
Urawa are hardly a free-scoring team either, netting only 42 times in 34 J-League matches.
BuildABet @ 11/1
- Jack Grealish to score anytime
- Rodri 1+ shot on traget
- Hiroki Sakai 2+ fouls committed
- Atsuki Ito 2+ tackles
CLICK HERE to back with Sky Bet
Urawa right back Hiroki Sakai could be in for a tricky evening up against Jack Grealish, with the latter a decent price to score given he ranks second among City players this season for xG per 90 with 0.34.
Rodri is a constant goal threat for City and can test the Urawa goalkeeper, while centre back Atsuki Ito will have to be at his best up against the tricky Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden.
Team news
Urawa's semi-final victory against Leon on Friday came at quite a cost for the Red Devils, as left-back Takahiro Akimoto, right-back Takahiro Sekine and winger Tomoaki Okubo were all forced off in the second half with injuries of an unspecified nature.
Thankfully for boss Maciej Skorza, his full-back ranks are well-stocked at the minute, and former Marseille defender Hiroki Sakai - who has recently made a full recovery from a knee injury - could now be called upon to deputise for Sekine at the back.
Manchester City are likely to remain without Kevin De Bruyne, while Erling Haaland (foot) and Jeremy Doku (muscle) were also absent from the draw with Crystal Palace at the weekend.
All three players have been named in Guardiola's travelling party, but it would be a shock to see De Bruyne given the thumbs-up from the medical team, while Haaland should also be spared ahead of a potential final or third-place play-off, allowing Julian Alvarez another opportunity to impress as City's main marksman.
Guardiola limited himself to just one in-game change on Saturday, but the Catalan coach should not hesitate to ring the changes for the semi-final, offering hope to all of Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega.
Predicted line-ups
Urawa Red Diamonds: Nishikawa; Sakai, Scholz, Hoibraten, Ogiwara; Iwao, Ito; Schalk, Yasui, Koizumi; Kante
Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gomez; Nunes, Kovacic; Bobb, Silva, Grealish; Alvarez
Match facts
- This will be only the second ever competitive meeting between a Japanese and an English club, after Manchester United’s 5-3 FIFA Club World Cup semi-final win over Gamba Osaka in 2008.
- Asian clubs have lost all 13 of their previous FIFA Club World Cup games against European sides, conceding 41 goals in the process (3.2 per game). Urawa Red Diamonds’ only such match saw them lose 1-0 to Milan in the 2007 edition.
- Manchester City are competing in the FIFA Club World Cup for the very first time, becoming the fourth English club to feature in the tournament since it began in 2000, after Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea.
- Urawa Red Diamonds are competing in their third FIFA Club World Cup, finishing third in 2007 and fifth in 2017. They are aiming to become the fourth Asian finalists of the competition, after Kashima Antlers in 2016, Al Ain in 2018, and Al Hilal in 2022.
- Clubs from European nations have won all 18 of their previous FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals by an aggregate score of 52-9. English sides specifically have won all five of their semi-finals.
- European sides have won each of their last 20 FIFA Club World Cup matches, a run stretching back to Chelsea’s 2012 final defeat to Corinthians (0-1). Three of the four defeats suffered in Club World Cup matches by European clubs, though, have been by English teams: Man Utd 1-3 Vasco da Gama in 2000, Liverpool 0-1 São Paulo in 2005, and Chelsea 0-1 Corinthians in 2012.
- This will be Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s fourth participation in the FIFA Club World Cup as a manager, lifting the trophy in each of his previous three with Barcelona (2009, 2011) and Bayern Munich (2013), seeing his sides win all six of their games across those editions.
Odds correct at 1545 GMT (15/12/23)
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