In pursuit of their second Club World Cup title in consecutive tournaments, Manchester City begin Group G on Wednesday, facing off against the Moroccan team Wydad AC in Philadelphia.
The Serie A giants Juventus and the representatives of the United Arab Emirates, Al-Ain, are also included in this section, where anything less than a top-two finish would represent the lowest of lows for Man City.
The Serie A giants Juventus and the representatives of the United Arab Emirates, Al-Ain, are also included in this section,
Challenging periods frequently forge resilient individuals, and the devoted Citizens will be hoping that this holds true for Guardiola and his team, as the Sky Blues are eager to erase the memories of the 2024-25 season as swiftly as possible.
A successful early-season Community Shield was the only highlight for Man City last season, as they relinquished their Premier League title to Liverpool without much resistance, succumbed to Real Madrid's dominance in the Champions League, and endured a heartbreaking FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace.
The upcoming verdict regarding the 115 charges is casting a shadow over all individuals connected to the club. However, regarding what the Citizens can manage, Guardiola and his transfer executives have been freely spending money during the initial stages of the summer.
Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, and Tijjani Reijnders have already entered the Etihad. The former and the latter will aim to compensate for some of Kevin De Bruyne's creativity, and further arrivals are expected before the commencement of the new domestic season.
Regarding the situation on the field, Manchester City enters the Club World Cup as the reigning champions; they secured victory in the 2023 edition with ease prior to FIFA introducing the Intercontinental Cup, which served as a temporary substitute in 2024.
Although Manchester City possesses a Club World Cup trophy in their collection, their upcoming opponents, Wydad AC, have slightly greater experience in the global event; the 2025 edition will be their third participation in the tournament.
The Moroccan powerhouses, having secured an unprecedented 22 titles in their country, made their debut in the CWC during the 2017-18 season. They lost the fifth-placed match to Urawa Red Diamonds and were subsequently eliminated in the second round by Al-Hilal in the 2022-23 season.
The Red Castle secured their place in the expanded tournament due to their victory in the CAF Champions League during the 2021-22 season. However, the squad, under the leadership of Mohamed Amine Benhachem, has numerous errors to correct from the previous two seasons.
Indeed, Wydad managed to secure only a third-place finish in the 2024-25 Botola, which is the premier division of Moroccan football. Furthermore, in the 2023-24 CAF Champions League, they faced their first-ever elimination at the group stage of the tournament.
The Red Castle experienced consecutive friendly defeats against renowned European teams Porto and Sevilla last month, each time losing by a narrow margin of one goal to nil. However, maintaining a respectable scoreline will likely be the primary objective on Wednesday.
Man City form (all competitions): WWDLWW
Wydad AC form (all competitions): DWWWWL
Man City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri; Reijnders, Gonzalez; Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Wydad AC possible starting lineup:
El Motie; Moufi, Meijers, Harkass, Boucheta; Malsa, Moubarik; Amrabat, Arthur, Rayhi; Obeng
Match Prediction
We say: Manchester City 4-0 Wydad AC
Sterner tests will of course come, but even a weakened Man City outfit should have few problems kicking off their Group G campaign with a glut of goals against the Moroccan minnows.
No comments:
Post a Comment