Urawa Reds vs Monterrey Prediction: Riled-up Rayados to risk referee’s wrath at the Rose Bowl

After losing their first two matches at the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup, the Urawa Red Diamonds head into their final Group E game against Monterrey on Thursday (02:00 BST, DAZN) knowing that they cannot qualify for the knockout stage, unlike their Mexican opponents, who will reach the last 16 if they beat their Japanese counterparts and there is a loser between River Plate and Inter Milan.

Below are my Urawa Reds vs Monterrey predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this meeting at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.

Team News

Urawa don't appear to have any new injury worries, so head coach Maciej Skorza could name an unchanged starting XI from their 2-1 defeat to Inter last Saturday. The Reds took the lead in the 11th minute against the Nerazzurri through Ryoma Watanabe and held on until the 78th minute, when Lautaro Martinez struck an equaliser for Cristian Chivu's side. Valentin Carboni then scored in the second minute of stoppage time to break Urawa's hearts.

Skorza has named the same line-up two games in a row, though, so changes are possible on Thursday, especially considering the J1 League club cannot qualify for the last 16 now.

Football Odds

Takahiro Sekine, Thiago Santana, Taishi Matsumoto, Takuya Ogiwara and Genki Haraguchi all came on as second-half substitutes against Inter and will all be in with a shout of starting on Thursday, should Skorza decide to freshen things up.

Monterrey will be without Jorge Rodriguez at the Rose Bowl, with the Argentine midfielder serving a one-game suspension for picking up a yellow card in Rayados' first two games at the 2025 Club World Cup.

Johan Rojas or Fidel Ambriz could replace Rodriguez in the starting XI.

Ambriz, Stefan Medina, Alfonso Alvarado and Erick Aguirre are all walking a disciplinary tightrope following cautions against River Plate, as one more card on Thursday would rule each of them out of a potential last-16 tie.

Urawa Reds vs Monterrey Odds

Urawa are 4/1, or a 20% chance, to win and secure third place in Group E, while Monterrey are 7/10 to claim the victory they require to stand a chance of qualification, implying a 58.8% probability of success.

The draw, which would see Rayados stay third and the Reds confirmed as wooden spooners, is priced at 3/1, with both teams to score, a winner in Urawa's first two games, available at 8/11.

Monterrey striker German Berterame, who is yet to score at the tournament, heads the anytime goalscorer market at 7/5, followed by teammates Sergio Canales (8/5) and Roberto de la Rosa (9/4). Thiago Santana (12/5) is first up for Urawa.

Team With Most Shots - Urawa Reds @ 11/4

This might be considered a strange selection considering Monterrey need to win to keep their qualification hopes alive, but there are reasons to back Urawa to take more shots than their opponents on Thursday.

Both teams lost the shot count in their first two games, and interestingly, have both recorded the same number of efforts at goal - 14.

The Reds shot nine times against River Plate, compared to the Argentine side's 13, and managed just five against Inter, who racked up 26 attempts to get back level and then take the lead.

Today's Football Fixtures

Monterrey, meanwhile, started strong with 11 shots to Inter's 15 before mustering just three against River Plate - and none after the 14th minute - who amassed 18 efforts at goal. Those statistics are particularly worrying, especially as Los Millonarios went down to 10 men in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, with five minutes still left to play. Yet, it was the team with fewer players who had the only shot thereafter.

Rayados will surely look to up the intensity against Urawa as they need to score and win, while a draw between River Plate and Inter could see them needing to triumph by a couple.

However, while they are taking on a Urawa outfit without a point to their name after two games, the Reds shouldn't be written off, and they produced an impressive performance against Inter last time out, narrowly losing to the Italian giants.

The Japanese side now have nothing to lose in their final group game, and they will be eager to beat Monterrey and leapfrog them in third to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.

If the Liga MX club goes into the lead early on, I can see them bunkering in, looking to defend their lead, while if they go pouring forwards in search of a goal, I think they may be susceptible to the counter-attack.

At 11/4, I think we're getting good value here for Urawa to take more shots than Domenec Torrent's side.

Team With Most Booking Points - Monterrey @ 7/5

Urawa received 30 booking points, for three yellow cards, against Inter last Saturday, with their Italian opponents emerging from the contest in Seattle without entering the referee's notebook.

However, the Reds were shown 20 booking points, for two cautions, in their first group game against River Plate, who were awarded 40 booking points (four yellows), and I think Skorza's side will receive fewer booking points on Thursday for the second time this tournament.

While they will be eager to avoid a last-place finish, I can't see the Reds offering the same intensity as they did against Inter, and one of their bookings against the Nerazzurri was for time wasting, something I don't believe we will see from the Japanese club in Pasadena.

Monterrey, meanwhile, were the recipients of 50 booking points against River Plate last Sunday as five yellows were flashed in their direction, although the Argentines ended up as the team with the most booking points (65).

Still, it's Monterrey with more to gain on Thursday, and if they are anywhere near as fiery as they were against River Plate, I would be shocked if they weren't awarded the most booking points in their Group E decider against Urawa. Sergio Ramos himself may even end up with more on his own, having surprisingly avoided a booking so far in the USA.

Offers

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