Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the FIFA Club World Cup match.
Manchester City have rediscovered their form and breezed through the group stage, while Al Hilal only just secured a place in the knockout round. The main point of interest in this fixture lies more in the scoreline than the outcome itself.
Manchester City
The Manchester team dominated the group stage, winning all three matches with an aggregate score of 13:2. They dismantled Al Ain (6:0), comfortably beat Juventus (5:2), and saw off Wydad AC (2:0). Manchester City were ruthless in attack, scoring from a range of positions, and largely solid at the back aside from a few individual mistakes. Even Juventus managed only two shots on target — both ending in goals, one of which came after a major error by Ederson Moraes. Overall, Manchester City controlled proceedings and created chances with little resistance.
Al Hilal
Al Hilal recorded two draws against Real Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg (1:1 and 0:0 respectively), and only advanced by defeating CF Pachuca 2:0 in the final group match, making the most of counter-attacking situations. However, the attacking efficiency of the squad remains in doubt: just three goals from three matches, despite generating 5.14 xG. The ongoing absence of key striker Aleksandar Mitrović, still sidelined through injury, continues to hinder their attacking threat.
Manchester City vs Al Hilal Prediction
Manchester City have consistently broken through even the most organised defensive setups, as seen in their performance against Juventus, who had only conceded five goals in their previous seven games. In contrast, Al Hilal have struggled in front of goal and seem unlikely to cope with the pressure from Erling Haaland and the rest of the Manchester City attacking unit.
