Manchester City vs Al Ain Prediction: Dias to test compatriot Patricio in Atlanta

Qualification to the knockout stage of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup is already in sight for Manchester City, who swatted Wydad Casablanca (2-0) aside in their opening Group G game on Wednesday. Next up for the Citizens is a meeting with Al Ain, who were dealt a heavy defeat by Juventus (0-5) last Thursday.

Below are my Manchester City vs Al Ain predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this contest at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday (02:00 BST, Channel 5/DAZN).

Team News

Pep Guardiola is set to ring the changes on Monday, despite his side's comfortable win over Wydad on Wednesday.

Erling Haaland will be one man desperate for a promotion, after only coming on in the 59th minute against the Moroccans and failing to get on the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Ruben Dias and new signing Rayan Ait Nouri were both left on the bench and could come in from the off on Monday.

Football Odds

Manuel Akanji, John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva and Claudio Echeverri are also searching for their first minutes of the tournament, while Matheus Nunes should start at right-back with Rico Lewis suspended following his red card against Wydad.

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he will select 10 new players to face Al Ain, but has ruled out the possibility of Rodri, who played the final half an hour against Wydad, or Stones, starting.

“In the next match 10 new players will be lined up to try and win,” said Guardiola.

On Rodri, he added: "He’s getting better. He can play 20 minutes, 30 minutes at a time. He wants to play to help but we want to protect his knee. He wants to help. Hopefully one day soon, he can play from the beginning.”

Al Ain head coach Vladimir Ivic may consider changes to his starting XI following his side's heavy defeat to Juventus in midweek.

Yahia Nader, Amadu Niang, Adis Jasic, Nassim Chadli and Joshua Udoh were all introduced in the second half against the Italian giants, and a few of those players may be hopeful of earning a promotion from the bench on Monday.

However, we can expect the likes of Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio, midfielder Kaku and forwards Soufiane Rahimi and Kodjo Laba to keep their places.

Manchester City vs Al Ain Odds

Man City are 1/8 to make it back-to-back wins at the tournament, implying an 88.9% chance of success, while Al Ain are 22/1, or a 4.3% chance, to pull off an upset and claim all three points.

The draw is priced at 17/2, both teams to score at 6/5, and over 3.5 total goals at 4/5.

Haaland (7/4/) heads the first goalscorer market, while Laba (10/3) is considered Al Ain's most likely anytime marksman.

Player to Have 1 or More Shots on Target - Ruben Dias (MCI) @ 12/5

All eyes will be on Haaland to see how many goals he can rack up in Atlanta, but I'm not seeing much value in backing any of City's forwards to fire at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Instead, I'm casting my eyes further back and picking out Dias as someone who can register a shot on target against Al Ain.

The 28-year-old was a key part of Portugal's successful Uefa Nations League campaign this month as Roberto Martinez's side beat Germany and Spain en route to lifting the trophy, and after arriving later to City's camp in the USA, Dias has been afforded some rest, as he sat out the Citizens' opening game at the Club World Cup.

With Guardiola promising 10 changes to his line-up on Monday, though, I'm expecting Dias to be restored to the starting XI, gently warming him up for a tougher test against Juventus next Thursday.

Today's Football Fixtures

Dias is by no means a prolific goalscorer, finding the net just once for his club side since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, and blanking in his last two seasons.

However, he's not shy to shoot, averaging 0.8 shots per 90 (0.3 shots on target p/90) in this season's Premier League, and he ended the campaign with three shots on target in his final five matches. Two of those efforts on target were headed attempts from corners, and that's something to consider as he prepares to take on Al Ain, who conceded five corners to Juventus on Thursday, with centre-back Lloyd Kelly getting his head to two of those deliveries, forcing a save from Patricio with his second shot.

Dias is someone who also likes to play 'hero ball', whereby he attempts fanciful shots from distance with his side struggling. It's a narcissistic trait, with the sort of shots he unloads, ones that should only really be attempted by the likes of Omar Marmoush or Phil Foden.

However, it's the sort of thing that can help to register a shot on target, so I won't be complaining if one of his long-range shots is saved on Monday. He most recently tried this trick against Southampton on May 10, seeing a shot blocked from 25+ yards before immediately letting loose again with a strike that was saved by Aaron Ramsdale.

Other examples of long-range shots hitting the target include the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on March 8, the 1-0 victory over Southampton on October 26, the 2-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on October 20, and the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on September 22.

Price Boosts - Man City HT/FT, Man City 7+ Corners & Erling Haaland to Score 2+ Goals @ 11/4 10/3

Man City came flying out of the traps against Wydad on Wednesday, opening the scoring in the second minute through Foden. The Citizens added a second in the 42nd minute thanks to Jeremy Doku and held on to their two-goal advantage for the rest of the game.

The early goal and victory marked the third consecutive match that City had taken a lead into the interval and went on to collect all three points, following Premier League wins against AFC Bournemouth and Fulham in May.

Al Ain, meanwhile, were a goal down in the 11th minute against Juventus, and by the time the referee had whistled for half-time, it was 4-0 to the Old Lady.

I can't see City taking this game less seriously, despite making wholesale changes, with several of their stars set to start their first game at the tournament, so I'm expecting the English side to make another fast start in Atlanta.

Guardiola's charges also look good for 7+ corners, having taken nine against Wydad in midweek.

Al Ain gave up five corners to Juventus on Thursday, four in the first half, and I see City being even more dominant on the ball than Igor Tudor's team was.

Lastly, I'm backing Haaland to bag a brace at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as he eyes the tournament's Golden Boot.

He missed out on the award in this season's Premier League, with a mixture of his form and injury seeing him finish third in the charts behind the winner, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, and the runner-up, Newcastle United's Alexander Isak.

The Norwegian won't have been happy to concede his trophy to the Egyptian, and he'll be looking to make a mark on this competition.

Haaland has some catching up to do already as, at the time of writing, Bayern Munich pair Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala, as well as Benfica's Angel Di Maria, are all on three goals, thanks in no small part to their contests with Club World Cup whipping boys Auckland City.

Still, Haaland will fancy his chances of getting near to them on Monday, as he takes on an Al Ain outfit that shipped five goals to Juventus in their opening game.

Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco 'Chico' Conceicao both bagged braces against Al Ain on Thursday, and Haaland, who has scored in seven of his last 10 starts for club and country, can follow suit here.

Offers

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