Manchester City vs Al Hilal Bet Builder Tips: Card for Cancelo in Citizens reunion

Manchester City cruised into the last 16 of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup, topping Group G after beating Wydad Casablanca (2-0), Al Ain (6-0) and Juventus (5-2). On Tuesday (02:00 BST, Channel 5/DAZN/Betfred), the Citizens will face Group H runners-up Al Hilal, who drew with Real Madrid (1-1) and Red Bull Salzburg (0-0) before booking their knockout spot with a victory over Pachuca (2-0).

Below are my Manchester City vs Al Hilal Bet Builder Tips ahead of this first-ever competitive meeting between the two sides, which takes place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Joao Cancelo (HIL) Total Shots - 1+

Former Man City full-back, Joao Cancelo, who joined Al Hilal last summer in a deal reportedly worth £21.2m to the Premier League club, will be looking to get one over his old side on Tuesday.

The Portugal international experienced mixed fortunes in Manchester, receiving widespread praise for his performances under Pep Guardiola before falling out of favour in his fourth season at the club. He joined Bayern Munich on a six-month loan in January 2023 and spent the entire 2023/24 season at FC Barcelona before sealing a permanent move away from the Etihad Stadium last year.

Reports suggested he and Guardiola butted heads, metaphorically speaking, although Cancelo later played down rumours of a big bust up.

Football Odds

Still, there's no doubt that the 31-year-old will be desperate to prove himself to his former employers on Tuesday and help his current club, Al Hilal, reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 Club World Cup.

A marauding right-back, Cancelo averaged a shot per game in the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League Elite, scoring twice in the latter competition.

He failed to record a shot in Al Hilal's opening match of the Club World Cup, against Real Madrid, but unleashed three efforts against Salzburg and one against Pachuca.

I'd be surprised not to see him try his luck at least once against City, who saw Wydad's left wing-back, Mohamed Moufid, and Al Ain's right wing-back, Adis Jasic, record one attempt apiece against them in the group stage.

Player Shown Any Card - Joao Cancelo (HIL)

I'm also backing Cancelo to receive a card, something I backed, without success, in Al Hilal's opening game against Real Madrid. Vinicius Jr. let me down big time in that stalemate, as the Brazilian put in a dismal performance against this season's Saudi Pro League runners-up.

However, Cancelo shouldn't find things as easy against City's left-winger, Jeremy Doku, who should start on Tuesday after a couple of excellent displays for his side in the competition.

The 23-year-old opened the scoring in wins against Wydad and Juventus, but as well as putting the ball in the net, he has been terrorising defenders, winning five free-kicks across his two tournament outings. He was fouled three times against the Moroccans, with right wing-back Fahd Moufi responsible for the first two offences, and right midfielder Nordin Amrabat taking responsibility for the other.

Manchester City vs Al Hilal Odds

Against Juventus, the Belgian was first taken out twice by right wing-back Alberto Costa.

Cancelo, then, could be in for a difficult evening against Doku. The Al Hilal ace averaged two fouls per game in this season's Saudi Pro League, picking up five yellow cards in 22 SPL appearances (21 starts), and was cautioned twice in nine AFC Champions League Elite outings (eight starts), so looks like a prime candidate to go into the referee's notebook on Tuesday.

Rayan Ait-Nouri (MCI) Total Tackles - 2+

Rayan Ait-Nouri sealed a dream move from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Man City earlier this summer and has started two of the Citizens' three games so far at this year's Club World Cup.

The 24-year-old played the duration of his new side's thrashing of Al Ain, making three tackles against the UAE outfit, before recording one tackle in his 75 minutes on the pitch against Juventus.

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Ait-Nouri averaged 2.4 tackles per game for Wolves in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, up from 2.2 per game in 2023/24, and he might need to be at his defensive best on Tuesday to help combat Al Hilal's right-winger Malcom, who averaged 1.6 successful dribbles per game in this season's Saudi Pro League.

Real Madrid left-back Fran Garcia made three tackles against Al Hilal before Salzburg's Frans Kratzig, playing in the same position, went one better by recording four against the Saudi side.

I'm confident Ait Nouri can make at least a couple of tackles on Tuesday, as long as he starts.

Total Corners Over/Under 9.5 - Over

It's been corner central for City at the Club World Cup, with their first two games producing 13 and 10 before a more modest count of seven against Juventus. Of the 30 taken in their three group matches, Guardiola's men have won 24.

Al Hilal, meanwhile, were responsible for six of the 11 corners taken in their draw with Real Madrid, 11 of the 17 won in their stalemate with Salzburg, and half (three) of the six awarded in their victory over Pachuca.

Today's Football Fixtures

City are averaging 10 corners per game in this tournament, while Al Hilal are averaging 11.3 per game, so over 9.5 looks like a solid way to conclude this Bet Builder.

Offers

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