After easily topping Group G in the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup, Man City begin their knockout round journey against Al-Hilal. The match is set to kick off at 2am (UK time) on Tuesday 1st July
Man City predicted lineup vs Al-Hilal
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Aït-Nouri; Silva, Rodri, Reijnders; Savinho, Doku, Haaland.
Man City were the only team to maintain a perfect record during the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup group stage. They didn’t face the toughest of opponents, with Al-Ain and Wydad Casablanca as two of the contestants, but they treated Juventus in a similar manner as they thrashed the Vecchia Signora 5-2.
Now, they prepare for the knockout rounds and will start their run against Al-Hilal. The Saudis started their campaign with a competitive, hard-fought 1-1 draw with Real Madrid, but faded a little bit as the games went on.
Man City team news vs Al-Hilal
Pep Guardiola used the first three matches to rotate his squad and ensure most of the players would see enough time on the pitch. There is a chance he solidifies his starting XIs from now on, though it is always extremely hard to predict what the Spaniard will do next.
In any case, he still has a lot of options to choose from for the round of 16 tie against Al-Hilal. Rico Lewis is back from his three-game suspension following a red card in Matchday One of the group stage, but the Citizens have done pretty well with new signing Aït-Nouri as a starter.
Their only loss will be Claudio Echeverri, who scored a stunning free-kick against Al-Ain and then got injured in training before the Juventus match.
Opposite runs of form?
Man City have been rolling on in the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup since the beginning. That’s not the case for Al-Hilal, though, who had a strong opening performance against Real Madrid and, despite getting their only win of the tournament last time around against Pachuca, were far from their best. And that was after another underwhelming showing against Red Bull Salzburg.
The Mexicans started the game eliminated from the competition and still put up a fight, taking the game to Al-Hilal after the Saudis scored first. Recently hired manager Simone Inzaghi allowed the opposition to dictate the terms of what became a tense match in the second half and was at risk of conceding a goal that would take his team out of contention for the knockout rounds. Still, it ended up paying off as Marcos Leonardo sealed the deal in added time.
Meanwhile, Man City had their first true test in Matchday Three of the group test and, unlike Al-Hilal, completely aced it. It was hard to take anything from their 2-0 and 6-0 wins over Wydad Casablanca and Al-Ain, respectively, but their 5-2 defeat of Juventus really stood out. Juve had a poor season by their standards, but looked like a second-tier side against the Citizens.
Everything looks set for Pep Guardiola’s men to leave Al-Hilal behind as most people anticipate, but this Club World Cup has already seen its fair share of upsets.