Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds have been pitted against their European counterparts Manchester City in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday.
Urawa Reds snatched a late victory against Mexican outfit Club Leon in the second round of the competition on Friday. City, who earned a bye to the competition’s semi-finals, have made a habit of losing points in the closing stages of matches. Pep Guardiola’s side prepared for the mini-tournament in Saudi Arabia by giving up a two-goal lead at home to Crystal Palace.
Off the pace in the Premier League title race, City will have to put their domestic struggles to one side while they target the club’s first global title to go alongside their Champions League triumph in the summer.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming clash.
Urawa Red Diamonds vs Man City H2H Record (All time)
The two clubs have never met in a competitive setting.
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Urawa squeezed through the second round against Leon but at a cost. Both full-backs Takahiro Sekine and Takahiro Akimoto were forced off in the second half through injury while the winger Tomoaki Okubo also had to be replaced.
Dutch forward Alex Schalk came on for Okubo and scored the only goal of the game. Even if his players weren’t dropping like flies, Maciej Skorza may have been inclined to start Schalk.
The 33-year-old striker Jose Kante, a Guinea international who was born a 40-minute drive away from Pep Guardiola’s home town in Catalonia, will retire after the Club World Cup and is set to lead the line ahead of his send-off.
Urawa Red Diamonds predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Nishikawa; Sakai, Scholz, Hoibraten, Ogiwara; Iwao, Ito; Schalk, Yasui, Koizumi; Kante.
Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland took their seats on City’s plane to Saudi Arabia even though neither featured in the Premier League draw with Palace earlier that day. De Bruyne has not appeared in a competitive setting for City since severely damaging his hamstring in August but was included in the 23-man squad.
Haaland is nursing a nagging foot problem that has sidelined him for two games. To accelerate his recovery, City’s top scorer has been treated by biomechanics expert John Haddad dubbed the ‘Miracle Man’.
It may not take divine intervention for Jeremy Doku to recover from a minor hamstring issue but the fleet-footed winger is a doubt for Tuesday’s contest.
Man City predicted lineup vs Urawa Red Diamonds (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Rodri; Silva, Foden, Grealish; Alvarez.
It’s been a cruel sequence of heartache for Urawa in recent months. The divisive Japanese club began November by losing the J League Cup final and slumped to fourth place in the top flight when the season ended in December, missing out on a spot in next season’s AFC Champions League – the competition they won in May to earn a spot at the Club World Cup.
Urawa boast the best defensive record in Japan’s top flight but have been outscored by six clubs in the division. Even if they cannot call upon De Bruyne, Haaland or Doku, City should be able to penetrate Urawa’s stubborn rearguard at least once to earn a spot in the final.
Prediction: Urawa Red Diamonds 0-2 Man City
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