Juventus vs Manchester City
Two of Europe’s biggest guns meet at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Thursday as Club World Cup game between Juventus and Manchester City takes center stage for a Group G decider.
The Serie A and Premier League giants brushed aside their opponents in the first two rounds with a devastating display of attacking prowess. Igor Tudor’s Juventus beat Emirates side Al Ain 5-0, and then, on Sunday, they thrashed the Moroccans of Wydad 4-1. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are yet to concede a goal, following up a 2-0 victory over Wydad with a 6-0 trouncing of Al Ain.
I Bianconeri are top of the group courtesy of goals scored, so the onus is on the Sky Blues to beat Juventus, for the first time by the way, if they are to finish the group stage on top.
Talking Points
Juve back on track under Tudor
When Thiago Motta left Juventus in March, the club turned to its former center-back Igor Tudor to steer them home, and the Croatian led his team to a fast finish which ensured Champions League football again next term. The Old Lady is unbeaten under the new coach, and it has been reported in the Italian press that Tudor is about to be rewarded with an extended contract to take him to 2027.
The Juve playing legend has certainly been busy in the summer transfer market, with the signing of Pierre Kalulu from AC Milan and Nico Gonzalez from Fiorentina making it six incomings so far. And he can afford to introduce his new men gradually into a group which is growing in consistency.
They have scored nine goals in two games, and 20-year-old Turkish winger Kenan Yildiz, who joined the club in 2023, is in hot form, scoring a brace against Wydad to make it three for the competition, while star striker Dusan Vlahovic was also on target. The livewire Randal Kolo Muani has scored two goals so far, and these three forwards are all likely to start on Thursday, with skipper Manuel Locatelli pulling the strings in midfield.
The 2025/26 Serie A fixtures are out, and, as reported here at SBOTOP, Juventus have a tasty clash on Matchday 3 when they face Inter Milan in the Derby D’Italia. This upcoming test against one of Europe’s most powerful clubs will be a measure of where the Old Lady is right now.
Pep shuffles his pack
The departure of Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli dominated the news in both England and Italy, and the Belgian’s arrival in Naples gave I Partenopei’s rivals, Juventus included, plenty to think about. But at City, it is business as usual as Pep goes about another rebuild, evolutionary rather than revolutionary as always.
He added a group of players in January and has been busy again in summer, with Claudio Echeverri and Rayan Cherki bagging their first goals for the Sky Blues in the 6-0 thrashing of Al Ain. These two will be hopeful of making some Club World Cup 2025 highlights on Thursday, but they may have to be patient as the manager has used two completely different lineups in the two games so far.
I suspect Guardiola will name an experienced side to take on the Italians and Ilkay Gundogan, who has scored twice so far, is likely to start again in midfield, with the recently returned Rodri in behind and Mateo Kovacic alongside. Ruben Dias will marshal the defense, and there could be another start for Erling Haaland, who scored against the Emirates, and Phil Foden, who is hoping to return to his best after a stop-start campaign in 2024/25.
History
With three wins and two draws from the previous five meetings, the Old Lady has bossed the Mancunians, winning 2-0 when the two teams met in December as Vlahovic and Weston McKennie scored second-half goals. That result virtually consigned City to Champions League play-off place, which they lost, so you could say the Sky Blues owe the Italians.
In terms of recent form, both teams have won their last four games, and Juventus are unbeaten in seven under Tudor.
Betting Tip
The Club World Cup 2025 betting odds back the Sky Blues at 1.71 to win, with the draw at 3.27 and a Juve win at 3.89. These odds look to be long on the Italians, who have posed plenty of problems for Manchester City in recent years, but the Sky Blues will be worth watching this year as they try to recover from a poor 2024/25 by their high standards.
Guardiola has plenty of quality and firepower in his locker, and I expect much of it to be on show on Thursday as he tries to finally get one over the Old Lady.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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