Both unbeaten in the 2025 Club World Cup so far, something has to change when man city take on Al-Hilal in the last-16 clash at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Monday.
Pep Guardiola’s side reached the knockouts with maximum points, while the Saudi team finished second behind Real Madrid in their group.
Man city vs Al-Hilal Match Preview
Man city ended the group stage on top form, as they became the only team to collect all nine points from three matches and comfortably booked their place in the next round.
After scoring a total of eight goals against Al-Ain and Wydad AC, Guardiola’s men kept their momentum with a solid 5-2 win over Juventus, which secured them first place in Group G.
Even though Ederson made a big mistake that led to a Juventus goal, Pierre Kalulu made an even worse error, and man city took full advantage. They finished the group stage with the best goal difference of +11 and led for 89% of their match time, which was the highest of any team.
Including the final games of the Premier League season, man city have now won five matches in a row in all competitions. But Al-Hilal also remain unbeaten in the USA.
While man city impressed with goals in Group G, Al-Hilal managed only three goals in Group H. Still, that was enough for second place thanks to their strong defending.
Real Madrid scored against them in a 1-1 draw, followed by a goalless draw with Red Bull Salzburg, and a key win over Pachuca where Salem Al-Dawsari and Marcos Leonardo scored.
With just one goal conceded, Al-Hilal matched PSG for the best defence in the group stage. They are unbeaten in eight matches since losing to Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League semi-finals.
Their only previous meeting with a Premier League side came against Chelsea in the 2021-22 Club World Cup, which they lost 1-0. This game against man city gives them a chance to improve on that result and reach the quarter-finals, where they could face Fluminense or Inter Milan.
Man City Club World Cup form: W W W
Man City form (all competitions): L W W W W W
Al-Hilal Club World Cup form: D D W
Al-Hilal form (all competitions): W L W D D W
Man city vs Al-Hilal Team News
Claudio Echeverri picked up an ankle injury in training before the Juventus game and might miss the rest of the tournament. Rico Lewis is still suspended, and Mateo Kovacic remains at home after Achilles surgery.
Erling Haaland came on during the last game and scored his 300th career goal. He is expected to start here, pushing Omar Marmoush to the bench.
Al-Hilal also have injury issues, with captain Salem Al-Dawsari ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring problem. Coach Simone Inzaghi might start Mohamed Kanno in his place to make the team more defensive.
Joao Cancelo could face his former club, and Kalidou Koulibaly remains a key figure in defence.
Man City predicted lineup:
Ederson; Nunes, Khusanov, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Gundogan; Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Al-Hilal predicted lineup:
Bono; Cancelo, Tambakti, Koulibaly, Lodi; N. Al-Dawsari, Neves, Kanno; Milinkovic-Savic; Malcom, Leonardo
Man city vs Al-Hilal Prediction
Man City 2-0 Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal might try to sit deep and defend, but man city should eventually find the breakthrough. The English side have enough quality, even with changes, to control the match and book their spot in the quarter-finals without too much trouble.
The absence of Al-Dawsari will hurt the Saudi side both in attack and morale, making it likely that Guardiola’s team move on with ease.
