What to expect from Manchester City and Juventus F.C on Thursday 26th June?
For anyone following football, there’s been a lot of drama and excitement since the FIFA Club World Cup kicked of in the US this month. Many of the world’s top tier football clubs are in attendance. And now it’s time for two of Europe’s top dogs to face off. Manchester City and Juventus FC are about to meet on Thursday 26th June. It’s a big battle in their final Group G fixture, and will take place in Orlando. At the moment, it’s all to play for as both of the teams have qualified for the last 16. But each one wants to finish top of the group. As such, Juventus actually has the slight advantage here, thanks to the number of goals they have scored.
Juve’s Club World Cup so far
The club kicked off their first ever Club World Cup in style. In the opening round they destroyed Al-Ain and continued their winning streak with a knockout victory (4-1) against Wydad FC on the second match day in Philadelphia. The Turkish player, Kenan Yildiz was instrumental in helping the team defeat Wydad, scoring two goals against the team. It’s not been plain sailing though for Juve. In the run up to this tournament, the club as actually had a challenging season. They’ve not been able to convert games to wins, often resulting in draws instead. However, their start to the Club World Cup couldn’t have been better.
Right now they have scored nine goals across the tournament and their opening two games. This means that Juventus is sitting pretty at the top of Group G, even if it’s by only a very small margin. To put it in perspective, and clarify why Thursday’s game is such a big one, Manchester City are on 8 goals. Fine margins can make a difference. And though Juve can afford a draw, it’s not ideal if they want to cement their place at the top of the table. With these minimal differences in place, there are always some fun betting opportunities to be had, many of which can be found on the best betting sites in Malawi. For anyone looking to predict over/under or other goal margins, careful research is key to see who will come out on top.
Reigning champs and 2025’s Club World Cup
Manchester City are the current champions and began their Club World Cup in solid style. They beat Wydad 2-0 before then destroying Al-Ain an impressive 6-0 in their second match. However, already this means that they’re down on goals in comparison to their main rivals. Impressively, this success is in the midst of some player uncertainty — a few players do not know what their long-term future is with the club, yet have still managed to perform at the highest level.
Despite the manager being disappointed at not scoring more goals, it should be noted that Man City has yet to concede any goals this tournament. But, because of the one goal difference, Manchester City now have to beat Juve if they are to come top of the table. Impressively, Man City goes into the match only having one defeat in their last 15 games when they lost the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. However, the club has struggled to be successful when directly playing against Juventus. They’ve actually only once in seven times against Juve, and this was back in 1976.
How will Thursday go down?
With all this in mind, Juventus are looking like the slightly stronger of the two teams. On the third match day of the Club World Cup, it looks like they will be the ones to beat. And, as mentioned, a draw will also keep them at the top of the table too. This means that it’s a game for Juventus to lose.
Man City is going to have to pull out all the stops if they are to topple Juve off that top spot. Juventus can’t sit back on this one. The club conceded chances in both their previous Club World Cup games and were lucky that their opposition didn’t capitalise on them. However, Man City is unlikely to be as forgiving, with a strong sform and good firepower which can topple the Italians if they’re not at their best.