Manchester City has roared back to life in the U.S., battering Juventus 5–2 to wrap up in their group play, and now Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al-Hilal may well bear the full brunt of Pep Guardiola’s trophy-hungry powerhouse.
Here’s the Sporting Base’s guide and insights for this all-important Round of 16 match-up.
How to watch
- When: Tuesday, 11am (AEST)
- Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando
- Watch Every Game Free On DAZN By Clicking Here
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Expected lineups
- Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Aït-Nouri, Gonzalez, Gündoğan, Savinho, Foden, Doku, Haaland
- Al-Hilal (4-3-1-2): Bono, Cancelo, Tambakti, Koulibaly, Lodi, N. Al-Dawsari, Neves, Kanno, Milinković-Savić, Malcom, Leonardo
Manchester City vs Al-Hilal prediction
This Sporting Base writer would be surprised if Pep made many changes to his Man City squad’s plans heading into the Round of 16. While there’s an air that Al-Hilal has presented themselves well at the Club World Cup, this one’s feeling like a bit of a mismatch — especially considering City is just hitting their stride again as the playoffs begin.
Even worse for the Crescent Moons, the English titans will have Erling Haaland up top again after he was absent for much of the group stage. Jérémy Doku, Phil Foden, and Savinho seem to be finding their rhythm just behind the striker, too.
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All this bodes ill for Al-Hilal, who will also be without their commanding captain, Salem Al-Dawsari, after he suffered a hamstring injury while the Saudi Arabians pushed past Pachuca 2–0 in their last group match.
Striker Aleksandar Mitrović is also still unavailable (and may soon be heading back to the Premier League).
If anyone can lead Al-Hilal to a shock victory over the Cityzens, it will be Simone Inzaghi, who has been stellar for the Riyadh club so far, and any great evening in Orlando will be off the back of a (frankly) humongous game from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. All that seems unlikely, though; expect City to fire on all cylinders through to the quarterfinals.
- Our prediction: Manchester City 5–0 Al-Hilal
- Goalscorer tip: Phil Foden
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