Club World Cup Team Betting Predictions: Manchester City

Manchester City are coming off the back of a rare recent trophyless campaign, and the 2023 Champions League winners will want to establish themselves amongst the elite once again this summer. The Club World Cup is a competition that they are the holders of, having defeated Fluminense following their first Champions League triumph. 

Pep Guardiola will want to test his side against the big boys, and below you can find my Manchester City Fifa Club World Cup 2025 predictions.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al Ain, Juventus

Fixtures: Manchester City vs Wydad AC (June 18, 17:00 BST), Manchester City vs Al Ain (June 23, 02:00 BST), Juventus vs Manchester City (June 26, 20:00 BST). 

There’s been a level of uncertainty surrounding the England teams in this new expanded competition, but you have to feel both Manchester City and Chelsea will take it incredibly seriously. 

"We're excited to come in as champions," Said City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak. "The format actually, I really like it. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.”

Club World Cup 2025 Odds

Although factually he is wrong about this being the start of the 2025/26 campaign, that does give you some idea of City’s approach to this competition. City did rally having lost the FA Cup final to finish third in the Premier League and secure Champions League football next term and they are already making moves in the transfer window.

Tijjani Reijnders of AC Milan and Rayan Ait-Nouri of Wolves are both set to join before the Club World Cup, with both likely to be included in the squad for this summer’s competition. With Kevin De Bruyne out the door and Jack Grealish also heading for the exit, it feels like a new era for the club, and it will be interesting to see how the likes of Nico Gonzalez, Savinho and Claudio Echeverri fare having settled in this term.

Player to watch: Tijjani Reijnders

It feels a bit mad to suggest that the player to watch at the Club World Cup for Man City ‘checks notes’ doesn’t actually play for Man City - at the time of writing. But the noises are that this deal will get done before they jet off to the United States of America, and what a prospect Reijnders is. 

The 26-year-old has proven himself to be one of the best midfielders in Europe when turning out for AC Milan in Serie A, and now City are set to pay arond £60m for his signature. If Guardiola is looking for a KDB replacement, he may not go far wrong with Reijnders who has praised the Belgium star in the past.

“I learned a lot from how he scans the area before he gets the ball. My father pointed that out to me and from then on I really started paying attention to it with him. When you look ahead, you give yourself so much more time. I apply that to every game now.” 

Reijnders is an all-action midfielder who will catch the eye this summer for the Citizens. He could get their fans very excited ahead of the new campaign. 

Football Odds

*FIFA Club World Cup (15/06 – 13/07): Bet £10 or more on a team to win the 2025 Club World Cup and receive £2 in Free Bets for each game your team wins in 90 minutes to use on Football Bet Builders.

Manchester City to win the Club World Cup @ 5/1

Manchester City can go across the pond and win the Club World Cup. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt. They should cruise through a group containing Wydad AC, Al Ain and Juventus, although their test against the Italian giants will be a good barometer on what level they are at. 

Winning the group is vitally important as the runner up in Group G will likely face Real Madrid in the first knockout round. City should be able to do that and then they will face Al Hilal, RB Salzburg or Pachuca - so a quarter-final appearance should be no trouble at all. 

From there, they are going to have to take down some big teams, but this is a City side with plenty to prove after a disappointing campaign. With some new blood and having waved goodbye to the old guard, I think Guardiola’s men can defend their crown. 

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