Urawa Reds-Manchester City is a Club World Cup semifinal and is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m.: lineups, predictions, TV and streaming.
Manchester City left for Saudi Arabia with bags full of doubts and uncertainties. Pep Guardiola’s team is going through the most complicated moment of its season and last Saturday’s draw with a struggling Crystal Palace team is proof of how the two wins in a row against Luton and Red Star had not solved all the problems of the reigning European and English champions.
The Cityzens continue to be less than solid in the non-possession phase, and it is no coincidence that they have failed to keep their goal inviolate since even early November. The comeback by Roy Hodgson’s Palace over the last weekend has something resounding: while City, leading by two goals, was already looking forward to its second consecutive league success, the Eagles scored two goals within a quarter of an hour, and Olise’s goal even came in the middle of the second half on a penalty kick. The top of the standings, meanwhile, continues to recede: Guardiola and his men are only fourth, -5 from leading Arsenal and behind Aston Villa and Liverpool as well.
The Catalan coach hopes the warm temperatures in Jeddah will do his men good. Who at the end of the week could lift yet another title of the season, a trophy that, moreover, Manchester City has never won in its history having never had the chance to play this competition before.
City tries to restart in Saudi Arabia
The all-time champions are the big favorites for the last Club World Cup to be played under this format: as of 2025 there will be 32 teams competing for the trophy.
(Kante of the Urawa Reds TheVeggente.it (Ansa)
City starts in the semifinals, where it will face the Urawa Reds. Then, in a possible final, it would take on the winner of Fluminense-Al Ahly. The Nipponese won the last edition of the Asian Champions League by beating Al-Hilal in the final (1-1 and 1-0) but before the pharaonic summer market (the Saudis had yet indulged as they did a few months later). Led by Polish coach Maciej Skorza, the Urawa Reds have been in Saudi Arabia for a week already, and in the previous round they won 1-0 over Leon, a Mexican club, downed thanks to a goal by Dutch striker Alex Schalk.
The Prediction
Guardiola is expected to field many reserves, keeping Haaland – not at his best – on the bench and preserving him for the eventual final. The Japanese, in any case, do not represent a credible obstacle. City’s victory is not in question, but given the defensive issues of recent times, the “goal” outcome can be assessed, with the Japanese likely to score at least one goal against the reigning European champions.
The likely lineups of Urawa Reds-Manchester City
URAWA REDS (4-2-3-1): Nishikawa; Sakai, Scholz, Hoibraten, Ogiwara; Iwao, Ito; Schalk, Yasui, Koizumi; Kante.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gomez; Matheus Nunes, Kovacic; Bobb, Bernardo Silva, Grealish; Julian Alvarez.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-3
