Man City has just gone through a “bruised” season with no trophies in all competitions. However, that is not a worrying sign. The proof is that the Man “blue” leadership still has full confidence in coach Pep Guardiola in the midst of the storm.
Man City revived strongly at FIFA Club World Cup (Photo: Getty).
After so many successful seasons, culminating in the treble in the 2022/23 season, Man City need a break to reflect on themselves. The club's situation is quite similar to the 2019/20 season. They also had their Premier League title interrupted, giving up the title to Liverpool. In that season, Man "Blue" was also eliminated from the Champions League in the quarter-finals after losing to Lyon and only had the English League Cup as a consolation.
In fact, after that “breathtaking break”, Man City has risen strongly again. The Citizens won a series of 4 Premier League titles and were crowned Champions League champions for the first time in history.
Last summer, coach Pep Guardiola was worried that Man City would lose motivation because they were too full of titles, but the disappointing season just ended was a big enough slap to wake up the team.
Pep Guardiola's team showed their rise at the FIFA Club World Cup. In the group stage, they won all three matches, scoring 13 goals (the most in the group stage). In particular, the 5-2 victory over Juventus showed the class of The Citizens.
Al Hilal plays extremely pragmatically and is extremely annoying (Photo: ESPN).
Now, Man City of course want to run all the way to the championship. When smiles are on the lips of many players, Man “Blue” can completely turn on the usual destructive mode. The good news for Man City is that new players like Echeverri or Rayan Cherki have integrated very well with the club's playing style.
Meanwhile, Al Hilal also pose a certain danger. They are led by coach Simone Inzaghi, who just won the Champions League runner-up position with Inter Milan. The Italian strategist is turning Al Hilal into another version of Inter with pragmatism and a very unpleasant rough playing style.
In the group stage, Al Hilal conceded just one goal, no other club conceded less. So it is possible to imagine the approach of the Saudi Arabian club when facing a big challenge called Man City.
Al Hilal has a squad of quality players who have made their name in Europe such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Yassine Bounou, Malcom, Joao Cancelo, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. However, coach Inzaghi's problem is to create a balance when the quality of Saudi Arabian players is not equal.
Although Al Hilal held Real Madrid to a draw in the group stage, this will be a challenging match for the team as Man City turn on destruction mode.
Man City vs Al Hilal squad information
Man City lost Rico Lewis because this player was suspended by FIFA for 3 matches after the red card in the match against Wydad.
Al Hilal have the best squad. Defender Joao Cancelo will face his old team Man City, where he was pushed out due to conflicts with coach Pep Guardiola.
Expected lineup Man City vs Al Hilal
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Reijnders, Rodri, Silva; Savinho, Haaland, Doku
Al Hilal (3-1-2-3-1): Bounou; Cancelo, Koulibaly, Altambakti; Lodi; Rúben Neves, Naseer Aldawsari; Salem Aldawsari, Milinković-Savić, Malcom; Marcos Leonardo
Score prediction Man City 3-1 Al Hilal
According to the Opta supercomputer, Man City have a 75% chance of winning. That number is 9.9% for Al Hilal. The probability of the match ending in a draw is 15.1%.
Predictions of some newspapers in the world
Sport Mole : Man City 2-0 Al Hilal
Sportskeeda : Man City 2-0 Al Hilal
Sports Illustrated : Man City 3-1 Al Hilal
Football Whispers : Man City 4-1 Al Hilal
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/nhan-dinh-man-city-vs-al-hilal-8h-ngay-17-bat-che-do-huy-diet-20250630120006887.htm
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