Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca Bet Builder Tips: Cherki debut catches the eye

Manchester City get their Club World Cup up and running as they face Wydad Casablanca in Group G (17:00, Channel 5). Pep Guardiola’s new boys could be in action, with Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri all set to feature in this tournament. 

They will hope to get off to a winning start, and below you can find my Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca Bet Builder Tips.

Rayan Cherki to score

I’m going to start this simple Bet Builder by backing Cherki to find the net at any time. He arrives from Lyon with a big reputation, and having watched him score a magnificent volley for France versus Spain, Manchester City fans will be keen to see him in action for their team tonight. He scored 12 goals in 44 appearances for Lyon last term, including four in the Europa League run that ended in heartbreak at Old Trafford. 

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His role at City will be as more of a creator, and he is expected to start in the number 10 role, behind Erling Haaland. Expect those two to spark up a wonderful partnership, in a game City should dominate. To give you some context here, Guardiola’s outfit are just 1/20 to secure all three points in this opener. It didn’t even increase our Bet Builder odds to include City to win, even though that is the obvious outcome. 

But it does give us some indication on how this game will plan out. The Citizens are one of the favourites to win this entire competition and should be able to score four or more goals against Wydad. Erling Haaland is just 3/10 to score anytime, so I think Cherki actually offers good value, given he is going to be desperate to impress on his debut. 

Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca Odds

Jamal Harkass and Fahd Moufi to get booked 

Two Wydad Casablanca cards make up the second part of this Bet Builder, and given City should have them under pressure throughout, I think several of the Moroccan team could find themselves in the referee’s notebook come full time. 

The first man I’ve selected is 29-year-old centre-back Jamal Harkass. He’s not been booked the last two competitive Wydad matches - but only because he was serving a two-game suspension due to the rapid accumulation of yellows he picked up in the regular season. He ended with 10 in just 29 appearances, and his aggressive style of play means he is the most likely Moroccan to get booked here. 

He’s going to have to try and deal with Haaland and/or Omar Marmoush, two of the best forwards on the planet, and he could find himself in early trouble. Meanwhile, his teammate Fahd Moufi is a recent addition from Hadjuk Split. The right-back has already picked up two yellow cards since joining in February, but he’s likely to come up against Jeremy Doku, who is so tricky to deal with. 

Doku averaged 5.63 successful dribbles per 90 minutes , while he also drew an average of two fouls per 90 in the Premier League last term. Up against weaker opposition he should get even more of the ball, and I can only see Moufi stopping him by fouling him. He is a prime candidate to get booked against Man City. 

Bet Builder pays 9/1

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