Real Madrid vs Pachuca Prediction: Rude dude Jude to fall foul of Ramon

Real Madrid laboured to a 1-1 draw with Al Hilal in their opening game of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup on Wednesday, making their Group H game with Pachuca on Sunday (20:00 BST, DAZN) look like a must-win one. Their opponents at Bank of America Stadium, Pachuca, also made a disappointing start to the competition, losing 2-1 to Red Bull Salzburg.

Below are my Real Madrid vs Pachuca predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this contest in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Team News

Kylian Mbappe missed Real Madrid's opening Club World Cup game after being hospitalised with an 'acute case of gastroenteritis'. The France international has since returned to his side's training base in Palm Beach, but looks unlikely to be back fit until the knockout stage, if Los Blancos make it there.

Mbappe joins Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Eder Militao (all knee), Eduardo Camavinga (groin), Endrick and Ferland Mendy (both hamstring) on the sidelines, but Antonio Rudiger could return from a knee issue.

Football Odds

Gonzalo Garcia looks likely to lead the line again, following an impressive performance against Al Hilal in Miami Gardens, where he opened the scoring in the 34th minute.

Should Xabi Alonso decide to make changes to his starting XI, Luka Modric, Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz are the most likely three to earn promotions from the bench.

Meanwhile, much more will be expected of Vinicius Jr. and, to a lesser extent, Trent Alexander-Arnold, both of whom failed to positively impact the game against Al Hilal.

Vinicius Jr. was even booked in the 15th minute, and will have to be careful on Sunday to avoid a second card, which would rule him out of Real Madrid's final group match against Salzburg next Friday.

Pachuca head coach Jaime Lozano will be pondering changes to his starting XI, following Tuzos' defeat to Salzburg earlier this week. Former Chelsea winger Kenedy started in attack against the Austrians alongside ex-West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Everton striker, Salomon Rondon, with neither able to get on the scoresheet.

Kenedy could be joined in the line-up by a man with a similar name, John Kennedy, who came on for Pedro Pedraza in the 55th minute on Wednesday. The on-loan Fluminense winger, who scored the winner in the 2023 Copa Libertadores Final, proved a nuisance to the Salzburg defenders as he was fouled three times, and having scored nine goals in 20 Liga MX appearances this season, he could be a much-needed spark in the Pachuca attack on Sunday.

Federico Pereira was the only Pachuca player booked in midweek, so no one other than the 25-year-old defender has to worry about a potential ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Real Madrid vs Pachuca Odds

Real Madrid are 1/3 to kickstart their Club World Cup campaign with a win on Sunday, implying a 75% probability of success. Pachuca, meanwhile, are 17/2, or a 10.5% chance, to get their first points on board with a famous victory over the Spanish giants. These sides have met already this season, with the European outfit beating their North American counterparts 3-0 in the Fifa Intercontinental Cup last December.

The draw is priced at 9/2, both teams to score at 4/5, and over 2.5 total goals at 8/15.

Garcia (1/1) heads the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Vinicius Jr. (6/5) and Jude Bellingham, with Rondon (13/5) first up for the Mexicans.

Bet Builder - Bryan Gonzalez (PAC) Total Shots - 2+, Total Shots on Target - 1+ @ 9/1

Pachuca left-back Bryan Gonzalez was in the thick of the action for his side against Salzburg, scoring their equaliser in the 56th minute and taking two further shots in the game, missing the target with a 73rd-minute free-kick and seeing a third left-footed effort blocked in the 83rd minute.

The 22-year-old's goal and shot numbers have been noteworthy in the last couple of years, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to see him try his luck three times against the Austrians.

Last season, Gonzalez struck four times in 23 Liga MX appearances, adding a fifth goal of the campaign in the Concacaf Champions Cup. He was particularly trigger-happy in the Apertura, averaging 1.3 shots and one on target per game.

The Mexican wasn't able to get on the scoresheet in the most recent Apertura or Clausura campaigns, but he averaged 0.8 shots and 1.1 shots per game, respectively.

Today's Football Fixtures

Gonzalez has now recorded at least one goal attempt in five of his last six outings, managing a shot on target in half. Furthermore, in Pachuca's Clausura quarter-final defeat to Club America, their last competitive fixture before the Club World Cup, he saw a headed effort strike the post.

The one-cap international had a second-half effort saved by Thibaut Courtois in Pachuca's defeat to Real Madrid last December, so he already knows what it's like to register a shot on target against Los Blancos.

Given the difficulties his teammates are experiencing in attack, with Tuzos blanking in three of their last six games, and two of their last three, Gonzalez will be expected to step up to the fore again on Sunday.

Whether he can replicate the three shots he unleashed against Salzburg, I'm not sure, but a couple of efforts, with one on target, is achievable, and at 9/1, I'm having a nibble all day long, especially considering it took Al Hilal left-back Renan Lodi just four minutes to take a strike in the Saudi side's stalemate with the Spaniards on Thursday.

Player to Receive a Card - Jude Bellingham (RMA) @ 4/1

One of Real Madrid's biggest stars, Vinicius Jr., was booked for simulation on Wednesday, just 14 minutes after his foul on Joao Cancelo in the first 60 seconds. Could we see another of Los Blancos' main men lose their cool on Sunday?

Bellingham is standing out to me in the player card market at 4/1. He was a peripheral figure against Al Hilal, failing to record a single shot before being replaced by Modric in the 84th minute.

The 21-year-old did make a couple of fouls, though, marking the third time in his last four starts for club and country that he has given away at least two free-kicks.

Bellingham was booked in three of his final five domestic outings for Real Madrid in 2024/25, receiving 13 yellows in total for the La Liga powerhouses and England.

The Three Lions star is an aggressive, physical player whose competitiveness can often spill over and get him into trouble. I'm predicting Pachuca to play on those vulnerabilities on Sunday, goading him at every opportunity, and if he's getting knocked about without finding much help from his teammates, he could bite back and get himself scribbled into referee Ramon Abatti's notebook.

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