Urawa Reds vs Man City Prediction: Foden to help fire Citizens into final

Manchester City will hope the FIFA Club World Cup can offer some sort of respite from their domestic woes of late, as they prepare to take on Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday evening (KO, 18:00).

A 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday was the fifth time in the last six Premier League games that Pep Guardiola's side have dropped points, a run of form that has them lagging behind Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa in the title race.

City must now focus their minds to face an unknown quantity in Urawa Reds, who finished fourth in the most recent J1 League season and beat Mexican outfit Club Leon in the quarter-final of this competition last Friday.

Team News

Urawa Reds boss Maciej Skorża will have to make checks on Takahiro Akimoto, Takahiro Sekine and Tomoaki Okubo after the trio were forced off against Leon last week.

Ex-Marseille right-back Hiroki Sakai replaced Akimoto for the final 10 minutes of that game and could be in line for a first start since November 4, with Takuya Ogiwara and Alex Schalk also primed to come in. Schalk was the hero in the semi-final, scoring just five minutes after his introduction.

City have taken Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland to Saudi Arabia but the duo are unlikely to be risked after suffering from injuries, with the final a more realistic date for their return, particularly Haaland.

Back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega could also earn a rare start alongside Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, if Guardiola decides to freshen his side up. John Stones is also likely to start after appearing as a late substitute against Palace on the weekend.

Match Odds

Urawa Red Diamonds are rated as huge outsiders at 12/1 to win the match inside 90 minutes on Tuesday, with a victory for the City - without the requirement of added time and/or penalties - priced at 1/8. The draw, which would lead to at least 30 more minutes of action, is available at 6/1.

Both teams to score is 11/10 and it's EVS for over 3.5 goals.

Man City to win and both teams to score @ 7/4

Man City have been without Haaland for the past three games but it's not scoring goals that has been the problem. They've fired seven past opposition goalkeepers across that period but have also conceded five times, and they've not kept a clean sheet in their last eight games, a run that stretches back to November 7.

Urawa might fancy their chances of nicking an early goal, but it was a tough battle against Leon on Friday and it remains to be seen whether their squad can recover in time to withstand the pressure City will apply throughout the game.

Eventually, I think the quality in the City ranks will show as Urawa tire.

Phil Foden to score anytime @ 11/8

The City academy graduate appears to have taken on increased responsibility in the absence of De Bruyne, particularly in big games.

Foden hasn't found the net in his last four matches but the two before that saw him score in high-scoring games against Tottenham Hotspur and RB Leipzig, and his season tally of seven also includes a strike against Manchester United.

The 23-year-old has flourished in continental ties this term, scoring three in five Champions League group games, and he might be the man to rely on against Urawa, with striker Julian Alvarez failing to score in nine of his last ten matches.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.