The FIFA Club World Cup continues on Saturday when we have four more matches taking place which are the middle matches in Groups E and F which means that once again we see some of the best teams in the world on show.
Both of these groups were very competitive in their opening games and as such teams will be jostling for position throughout the day as they look to either ensure their path into the knockout stages or have things in their own control going into the final outings.
Saturday’s matches are as follows: (UK kick off in brackets; all on DAZN)
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Borussia Dortmund (17.00)
Inter Milan vs Urawa Red Diamonds (20.00)
Fluminense vs Ulsan HD (23.00)
River Plate vs Monterrey (02.00)
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Preview
We begin the day in Group F where Mamelodi Sundowns will be looking to be the first African side to make it through to the knockout stages. They will do that if they can get the better of Borussia Dortmund in what is expected to be a roasting hot Cincinnati. We then move over to Group E for the second match of the night where the favourites to progress, Inter Milan, will look to put themselves in position to do that when they go up against the Asian side Urawa Red Diamonds for a noon kick off local time in Seattle.
The second half of the day takes us back to Group F where Fluminense will look to bolster their chances of reaching the knockout stages when they go up against the other Asian side on show on Saturday in Ulsan HD with that one coming from what could be a vibrant MetLife Stadium. The late game is back in Group E where River Plate can secure their spot in the round of 16 if they can come out on top when they go up against the Mexican outfit Monterrey, who after holding Inter Milan in their opening game have opened up a chance to qualify themselves with another positive result in Pasadena.
Betting
It is the middle two matches which catch my attention on Saturday with the first of those in question being the one between Inter Milan and the Urawa Red Diamonds where the pace, power and all-round class of Lautaro Martinez can be too much for the Asian side. We saw Urawa struggle with the physicality of the Argentine side River Plate in their opening game and Martinez is built to play in a similar way. You would expect Inter to have most of the ball here and it might be that goal difference comes into play in this group so they are unlikely to ease up. You can get even more on the Argentina international to score for a second game in succession and it looks a solid play to me.
Fluminense went into the tournament with many wondering whether their aging squad would be up to the rigours of the competition but when you saw their match against Borussia Dortmund, where I wouldn’t say they dominated but they certainly had the better of it, then there is plenty of reason to think that taking them on the -1 Asian line against Ulsan HD makes a lot of sense. Ulsan went into the tournament with serious questions over their form both domestically and in the Asian Champions League and we didn’t really see anything to suggest they were better than the form suggested when they went down to the Mamelodi Sundowns in their opening game. Mamelodi had a couple of goals disallowed which were marginal decisions so Ulsan were beaten more comfortably than the 1-0 score suggested. Thiago Silva reminded us of his class when he kept Serhou Guirassy quiet in the Fluminense opener and he is unlikely to be tested as much here so I expect the Brazilians to win this. A one goal win gets us our stake back but this could become quite one-sided with an early goal so I’ll take the South Americans on that Asian line.
Tips
Back L.Martinez to score anytime vs Urawa Red Diamonds for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfred
Back Fluminense (-1AH) to beat Ulsan HD for a 3/10 stake at 1.98 with Bet365
