Club World Cup
2025-06-22 - Manchester City vs Al-Ain
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: FIFA Club World Cup Group C
Sunday 22nd June 2025 - Kick Off 9pm (2am British Time)
This game is live on TV
Manchester City
Two first half goals set Manchester City on their way and they managed the remainder of the opening Club World Cup Group game in 2025. The 2-0 win means another victory should be enough to secure passage into the Second Round before the final fixture against Juventus, but Manchester City may be keen to position themselves within this section to avoid another early Knock Out meeting with Real Madrid.
They are the defending World Champions having won this tournament in its last format in 2023 and Manchester City will be looking to make up for a sub-par domestic campaign. Peaking as the tournament develops will be key, especially as the World Club Cup is being used in place of a usual pre-season, and Manchester City will have noted Juventus' performance against the next opponent.
Manchester City have won 3 in a row in all competitions since the stunning 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final. They will be back in the Champions League next season and Manchester City have scored at least twice in each of those last 3 wins.
Rico Lewis is suspended after being sent off late on in the win over Wydad AC. A number of key players did not start in the opening match and Rodri and Erling Haaland could come in to freshen things up.
Al-Ain
They Qualified as the winners of the 2024 AFC Champions League, but Al-Ain have been seen as one of the weakest clubs that will be taking part in the World Club Cup. The crushing loss to Juventus in the opening fixture will perhaps have underlined that feeling and Al-Ain need to find an upset against Manchester City to keep realistic hopes alive of reaching the Second Round.
In 2018, Al-Ain not only competed in the Club World Cup for the first time, but they reached the Final before being beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid. They did win a couple of Penalty Shoot Outs in the run, including against River Plate in the Semi Final, but Al-Ain have quickly found the difficulty of bridging the gap to another European club when crushed by Juventus on Wednesday.
Al-Ain arrived in the United States unbeaten in 7 games in all competitions, but they would have been well aware that the quality of opponent in the Club World Cup would be significantly higher. The real disappointment came in the AFC Champions League as the defending Champions were beaten in the League Stage when finishing bottom of the 12 team section with just 2 points to their name.
Head to Head
These two clubs met in a friendly back in 2014, but this is the first competitive meeting between Manchester City and Al-Ain.
Prediction
There may be a huge gap in the standings of these two clubs on the global stage, but Manchester City v Al-Ain may feel like something of a derby considering the former are owned by a United Arab Emirates national and the latter play in that country.
After the crushing loss to Juventus, Al-Ain will want to show more in this second Group game, even if they are expected to be beaten. They struggled in the AFC Champions League Group Stage and now have to take another big step upwards when facing a team of the qualities of Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola picked a strong team in the opening fixture, but one that was missing the likes of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland. Manchester City were still comfortable winners and they should have the firepower to at least push on for a goal or two more in this fixture.
Al-Ain could not contain the Juventus attack and this game kicking off in the evening in Atlanta should help Manchester City as they exert their power on the fixture.
The Pick :
Manchester City 3-0 Al-Ain
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Manchester City - 2.5 Asian Handicap at 1.70 with SportBet.One
