Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca Prediction: New men can help City shine

Manchester City have endured a rare trophyless campaign to date in 2024/25 but they will hope that they can end the season with something to show for it as they compete in the Fifa Club World Cup. They begin their Group G campaign underway with a fixture against Wydad Casablanca at Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday (17:00 BST, Channel 5).

Read on for my Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Manchester City wasted no time to bolster their ranks ahead of the Club World Cup with four players joining in the short transfer window at the start of the month. Rayan Cherki (Lyon), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan) and Marcus Bettinelli (Chelsea) have all signed up for the Sky Blues.

The former three could be set for their competitive debuts on Wednesday to give the supporters a taste of what they can look forward to next season after a disappointing season by their standards in 2024/25 so far.

John Stones is in the squad in spite of the thigh injury that kept him out of the end of the domestic campaign. Midfielder Mateo Kovacic (heel) has been left at home to recover.

Erling Haaland is set to lead the line having netted 30 goals across all competitions, and he will likely be his team's source of inspiration in the USA.

Manchester City Club World Cup preview

Wydad Casablanca Club World Cup preview

Wydad Casablanca's squad features 38-year-old Moroccan attacker Nordin Amrabat, who once tussled with City as a Watford player. He recently returned to his homeland to join Wydad following his exit from Hull City.

Former PSV Eindhoven youngster Mohamed Rayhi was Wyad's top scorer last season with 11 strikes and he is likely to feature in the final third on Wednesday.

Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca Odds

Man City are the overwhelming 1/20 favourites to come out on top in Philadelphia given the gulf in class between the two squads. You can improve the odds by either backing them to win to nil at 1/3, or by adding both teams to score to the selection at 11/4, which has an implied probability of 26.7%.

BTTS on its own is on offer at 9/4 and over 3.5 goals is priced at 4/5.

The draw is marketed at 14/1 and Wydad Casablanca are 66/1 to come away with the three points.

Over 3.5 Manchester City goals @ 1/1

City are one of the favourites to win the inaugural edition of the new-look Club World Cup and given their squad depth, enhanced by the new signings, you understand why.

Pep Guardiola and his players have had a disappointing season by their standards as they have failed to win any of the four trophies on offer. This has only ever happened in one season since the Spaniard took charge of the Citizens, highlighting just how successful his reign has been for the past nine years.

The CWC gives them the chance to end 2024/25 on a high as well as the mantle of the best team in the world. On paper, progression from their group should be seamless and I think they will get off to a flying start against Wydad on Wednesday.

Considering there isn't much value to be had in backing the English side to win this match in a variety of markets, I'm going to go for goals. They have an abundance of attacking quality in their squad and they have added to that with Cherki and Reijnders, who both have a nose for goals and assists.

We've seen Bayern Munich have a very fruitful day at the office at this tournament so far and I think City may be in line for one too - I'm backing them to score over 3.5 goals.

Today's Football Fixtures

Rayan Cherki anytime goalscorer @ 6/5

Cherki is arguably the most exciting signing City have made so far, and for good reason. City have looked devoid of creativity this season and this is a player who can provide just that. He finished 2024/25 with 20 goals for Lyon in all competitions in just 44 appearances.

The 21-year-old has also shown that he can be relied upon in front of goal, with 12 to his name for the French Club this term. Given the way City play, and where he will feature in the attacking third, he won't be short of goalscoring opportunities.

Cherki is the player the City fans are eager to see the most at the Club World Cup as he is being perceived as a player who can help return them to the top of the food chain domestically in 2025/26.

I think he can get off to a strong start as a Man City player, so I'm backing him to get on the scoresheet.

Offers

Wednesday: Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Club World Cup match played on Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Club World Cup matches.

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

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