FIFA Club World Cup Final: Man City vs Fluminense Odds
Copa Libertadores Champions vs Champions League Winners
Showdown in Saudi Arabia
On Tuesday, Manchester City defeated Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds in the FIFA Club World Cup Semi-finals. In Friday’s final, Man City will take on Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense, who took down Al Ahly on Monday in the first Semi-final. The Champions League winners will face the Copa Libertadores champions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday for the Club World Cup crown. In both teams’ first appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup final, we’ll check out the Man City vs Fluminense odds.
Manchester City vs Fluminense
Location: King Abdullah Sport City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Day/Time:
Head-to-Head
Friday’s match on the FIFA Club World Cup schedule is the first opportunity to bet on the Man City vs Fluminense odds. These teams have never before played against each other in a competitive match.
Man City Struggle in Lead Up to Club World Cup
While Manchester City went a perfect 6-0 in the Champions League group stage, they’ve stumbled quite a bit in their last few Premier League matches. The Cityzens haven’t won a single match without Rodri this season and have won just one of their last six EPL matches. Just before the Club World Cup began, City blew a two-goal lead vs. Crystal Palace in the Premier League and drew 2-2.
Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Kevin de Bruyne are all out injured and they are three of Manchester City’s key players. Haaland eads the Premier League with 14 goals, even though he’s missed two matches due to injury. Expect Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish to be the beneficiaries of Haaland and Doku’s absences. On Tuesday, Manchester City dominated vs. Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds and managed a 3-0 win.
The breakthrough came towards the end of the first half as a Urawa defender accidentally sent a cross into the back of his own net. In the second half, Kyle Walker played an excellent outside of the foot pass that Mateo Kovacic got on the end of and finished past the Urawa keeper. Bernardo Silva added a third in an easy win for City. Now, Pep Guardiola’s City will try to leave their mark on the all-time FIFA Club World Cup standings and win their first title.
Fluminense Advance Over Al Ahly
South American champions Fluminense took on African champions Al Ahly on Monday. Brazilian side Fluminense hit the post twice in the first half but couldn’t manage to find a breakthrough. Left-back Marcelo has played in plenty of FIFA Club World Cup games before and the four-time champion won a penalty in the second half. Jhon Arias stepped up and converted to give Fluminense a 1-0 lead.
A few minutes before the full-time whistle, John Kennedy doubled Fluminense’s lead as they advanced to the FIFA Club World Cup final. Fluminense is known for a somewhat bizarre style of play innovated by coach Fernando Diniz. Instead of strict positional play when they have the ball, Fluminense often overloads one side of the pitch to create networks.
They won their first-ever Copa Libertadores last month as their playstyle has been highly effective. Diniz is also the interim coach of the Brazil National team, where he hasn’t had as much success. Currently, Brazil is on a three-game losing streak and lost a World Cup qualifier for the first time ever last month. Along with Arias and Kennedy, German Cano and Ganso are some other key players for the Rio de Janeiro-based club.
Match Analysis & Odds
With a 16-8-14 record, Fluminense recently finished in just seventh place in the Brazilian Serie A. So, it’s no surprise that the Man City vs Fluminense odds list the Cityzens as -350 favorites for Friday’s FIFA Club World Cup final. Treble winners City aren’t playing at their best but still have the squad depth to get the job done here.
This is City’s first appearance in the Club World Cup and they’d undoubtedly like to add another trophy to their extensive cabinet. Already this year, City have defeated Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup in penalties. Fluminense have the ability to cause some problems for City though and they’re +700 underdogs for this one. A draw sits at +420 and the match would go into extra time if it finishes level.
Man City are 1.5-goal favorites for this match and City -1.5 stands at +105 odds. Fluminense needs to avoid conceding early and stay in the match. The oddsmakers imply they have a decent chance to keep things close here, as Fluminense +1.5 shows -125 odds. Over 2.5 goals display -135 odds in what has the potential to turn into a shootout.
For World Cup betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
