Al Hilal vs Pachuca Prediction: Shots, shots, shots – everybody!

Pachuca are already out of the Club World Cup, but their final Group H opponents Al Hilal need a win to stand any chance of progressing to the last 16. It makes their meeting in Nashville (02:00 BST, DAZN) a crucial one as the Saudi Arabian outfit look to prove they can handle themselves on the world stage. 

Below you will find my Al Hilal vs Pachuca predictions featuring team news and betting tips. 

Team News

Simeone Inzaghi will be pleased with the news that Nasser Al-Dawsari is fit to play again after his minor muscle issue, but it looks as though Aleksandar Mitrovic will miss out once again with his calf problem. That means Marcos Leonardo should start up front having scored 17 goals in 24 Saudi Pro League matches this term. 

Malcolm, Milinkovic-Savic and Salem Al-Sawsari should start behind the forward, despite the fact that they failed to break down RB Salzburg last time out. Joao Cancelo, Renan Lodi and Kalidou Koulibaly should feature in the back four, with Ruben Neves dictating the play in central midfield. 

Football Odds

Jaime Lozano may choose to shake things up a little with changes given his side can no longer make it out of the group. John Kennedy livened up their attack against Real Madrid, having five shots in total, and he could play alongside the experienced Salomon Rondon, or replace him in the XI from the off. 

Elias Montiel is one to watch in midfield as he found the net against Los Blancos, while former Chelsea man Kenedy should keep his place on the left wing. Javier Lopez and Carlos Sanchez could both come into the XI having done well off the bench last time out, as Pachuca look to finish their CWC on a positive note.

Al Hilal vs Pachuca Odds

Al Hilal are unsusprisingly the favourites to win this match at 4/6, giving them an implied win probability of 60% heading into this final group fixture. Pachuca are 4/1 to take the win while an unhelpful draw is priced up at 10/3. 

There have been two goals or fewer in each of Al Hilal’s last four games so under 2.5 goals is worth considering at 6/4, while BTTS can be backed at 4/7 if you do fancy some goals. Marcos Leonardo is the favourite to open the scoring at 4/1. 

Today's Football Fixtures

Marcos Leonardo to score anytime @ 1/1

I’m going to play things relatively safe with my first selection by backing Marcos Leonardo to score first. Al Hilal have made more eye-catching signings, such as Neymar in the past, but his compatriot has proven himself to be a far better transfer on the pitch. In truth, the bar was about as low as it could be after Neymar departed having made just seven appearances for the Saudi outfit, but Marcos Leonardo has been sensational since joining from Benfica for £21.3m. 

He’s only had one season at the club, but in that time he has caught fire, and is now flourishing as the central striker in Mitrovic’s absence. He’s scored 25 goals in 40 appearances for Al Hilal in all competitions this season, with 17 of those coming in the league. He’s scored those 17 from a total xG of just 9.72, proving just how good his finishing really is.

Up against a Pachuca outfit that have lost two out of two, I think he will fancy his chances of opening his account at the Club World Cup. 

Team with most shots - Pachuca @ 3/1 

I think there’s massive value in backing Pachuca to be the team that takes the most shots in this match. That may sound slightly odd given I believe Al Hilal are the rightful favourites to win this game and are looking good to progress, but the Mexicans have been firing shots off at will during this CWC. 

Against Salzburg they had 17 total shots to their opponent’s 10, while against Real Madrid they astonishingly had 25 shots to Los Blancos’ eight - with just three of those coming from inside the box. This is the way they want to play and I don’t see it changing here. If they can have more shots than the mighty Real Madrid, they can certainly manage the same feat against Al Hilal at a big price. 

Offers

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