Club World Cup

2025-06-18 - Manchester City vs Wydad AC

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Manchester City v Wydad AC
Football: FIFA Club World Cup Group G
Wednesday 18th June 2025 - Kick Off 12pm (5pm British Time)
This game is live on TV

Manchester City

They may have earned their Qualification for the Club World Cup as the 2023 Champions League Winners, but this has been a tough few months for Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City team. The manager may insist that the Community Shield counts as a trophy, but finishing 3rd in the Premier League and being beaten in the FA Cup Final was not the kind of campaign that Manchester City would have been expecting.

Work in the transfer window in January and further additions being made prior to the Club World Cup shows that Guardiola and the Manchester City upper management feel the squad needs a real refresh. This Group does offer the chance to work their way into the Club World Cup, which was won by Manchester City in 2023, and it is a chance for the new signings to ease their way into the action.

Manchester City may have been upset in the FA Cup Final and suffered a surprising early exit in the Champions League, but they won 7 of their last 10 Premier League games to earn a spot in the 2025/26 edition of the latter tournament. In their previous appearance in the Club World Cup under the old format, Manchester City scored seven goals without conceding on their way to the title.

A mixed starting eleven is expected to be selected for the opening game at the Club World Cup- players like Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland will provide experience, but the manager may choose to give some of the new signings an opportunity to impress him. Rodri is back in action and he showed how important he is to the system when missing several months last season.

Wydad AC

The 2022 Winners of the CAF Champions League will be making a third appearance at the Club World Cup, although Wydad AC have failed to progress past the Second Round in the previous two appearances. Earning a spot in the Second Round in the new format of the Club World Cup would mean Wydad AC have upset one of the two big European teams in this section and it is a big ask.

A domestic season ended with the failure to Qualify for the CAF Champions League and that has resulted in a change in manager. Mohamed Amine Benhachem will take the squad to the United States, but the draw could have been a lot kinder and Wydad AC will have to face Manchester City and Juventus right out of the gate.

Wydad AC did end the domestic season unbeaten in 5 games and they were able to win 3 in a row in all competitions. They have been able to take in a couple of friendly games against UEFA competition in the lead up to the Club World Cup, but Wydad AC were beaten by both Sevilla and Porto in Casablanca.

Head to Head

This is the first competitive meeting between these teams.

Prediction

It is likely going to be warm and humid at kick off in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon, but Manchester City should still have far too much in reserve for CAF representatives Wydad AC.

Both teams will feel they have had disappointing domestic campaigns, but there is a big gap in quality and depth and Manchester City have made some good additions in the first of the two summer transfer windows.

Pep Guardiola will want his team to make a strong opening statement and the feeling is that Manchester City will be able to wear down this opponent.

Wydad AC have made a managerial change after a relatively poor domestic campaign, but they would have hoped for a much easier Group to deal with. In two previous appearances at the Club World Cup, Wydad AC have not been able to make the Semi Final and trying to bridge the gap to Manchester City and Juventus may be asking too much.

An early goal for Manchester City could set them on their way to what could be a decent opening win to get this tournament underway.