Overview
After starting their first FIFA Club World Cup campaign by defeating Al-Ain 5-0, Juventus qualified directly with a 4-1 victory over Wydad AC in the second round.
Kenan Yildiz was Juventus's standout player in the US and continued his success on the first day of competition with a beautiful double against Wydad.
Juventus have had a challenging 2024-2025 season in Serie A when they struggled to turn draws into victories. They have drawn 16 times, the most in the competition on their journey to the top 4. Therefore, head coach Igor Tudor could hardly have expected a better start at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
After scoring 9 goals against 8 goals of Man City in the opening two matches, Juventus is currently leading Group G with a better goal difference. They will continue as the top team if they do not lose to the English team.
Juventus will be confident in their chances of getting their points in the third round, having a streak of 7 unbeaten matches in all competitions (won 5, drew 2). Notably, they have won all three of their most recent encounters with Man City, including a 2-0 win in the Champions League in December 2024.
FIFA Club World Cup 2023 champions Man City started their G Group campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wydad. They then destroyed Al-Ain 6-0 in the second match.
In the context of uncertain future, Ilkay Gundogan has scored 2 goals for The Citizens, while Erling Haaland, Oscar Bobb, Claudio Echeverri and new signing Rayan Cherki have also been named in the scoreboard. The Citizens have won their biggest win since beating Ipswich Town with the same number in the Premier League in mid-January.
Despite scoring 6 goals, coach Pep Guardiola was still disappointed because his team could not score more goals. If they score the 7th goal, they will not be left behind Juventus when the two teams meet.
Man City must now beat Juventus if they want to take the top spot and avoid the prospect of meeting Real Madrid in the round of 16.
Guardiola's side have entered the competition in the US after losing just one of their last 15 games in all competitions (W11 D3). Their only defeat in that time came against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.
However, their only win in their last seven meetings with Juventus came in 1976 in the UEFA Cup (1-0).
Personnel situation
Juventus's quartet, Mattia Perin, Juan Cabal, Bremer and Arkadiusz Milik, are all unable to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 because they are still recovering from injuries.
Captain Manuel Locatelli has recovered from an ankle injury to come on as a substitute in the win over Wydad. Locatelli will have to compete to return to the starting lineup, although Tudor could decide to keep Weston McKennie and Khephren Thuram in midfield.
As for Man City, Rico Lewis will not be able to play because of the controversial red card in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup against Wydad AC. Claudio Echeverri's ability to play is still uncertain after having to leave the field in the match against Al-Ain.
Expected lineup:
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Savona, Kelly, Kalulu, Costa, Thuram, McKennie, changeaso, Conceicao, Yildiz, Kolo Muani.
Man City: Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Reijnders, Savinho, Foden, Marmoush, Haaland.
The match between Juventus and Man City takes place at 2:00 am on June 27 (Vietnam time).
