The FIFA Club World Cup continues on Sunday where we have action in three different groups when four matches take place in the extended competition as eight teams get their campaigns up and running looking for an opening win.
We saw the tournament get going with a goalless draw on Saturday night so hopefully we get much more goal action over the course of a day where some of the biggest names in world football take to the pitch.
Sunday’s fixtures are as follows: (UK kick off in brackets; DAZN unless stated)
Bayern Munich vs Auckland City (17.00 – Channel Five)
Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid (20.00)
Palmeiras vs FC Porto (23.00)
Botafogo vs Seattle Sounders (03.00)
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Preview
We begin the second day of the tournament with what will be billed as a total mismatch and might turn out to be exactly that when the Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich go up against the part-timers of Oceania in Auckland City in the opening game in Group C in Cincinnati. Bayern will be expected to run up the score there before the pick of the matches in the group stage of the tournament takes place when the Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain get their quest for the European and world double underway with a tasty clash against Atletico Madrid inside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
That match opens up Group B but we return to Group A for the third game of a busy day of football when the stadium which will host the final four weeks from today opens its doors to the iconic Brazilian side Palmeiras and European challengers FC Porto. We close the day of action at Lumen Field where one of the co-hosting teams Seattle Sounders get their quest for world glory underway when they face another of the Brazilian teams in the competition on Botafogo, with both teams knowing with PSG and Atletico Madrid to come that losing here isn’t an option.
Betting
The tournament might have got off to a goalless start on Saturday but that won’t be the case on Sunday. The question in the first game of the day is how many Bayern Munich will win by. That will be a question against a few opponents in this competition let alone the part-timers of Auckland City for whom sitting in and avoiding a tonking is likely to be their only ambition. It is hard to do that against Bayern Munich though because they have so many attacking options and once the starters tire there are plenty more from the bench. The handicap for this one is around the 4.5 mark and when you consider that the Bundesliga champions have put five goals on the board seven times in all competitions and four on another eight occasions. This is a Bayern side who put weak foe to the sword and they can do that again here.
We’ll skip the second game from a betting point of view and go to the third one where I remain convinced that Palmeiras are the best side in Group A and given that we can get draw cover in their match against FC Porto, I think there is value in backing the Brazilian outfit on the Asian lines. As I said in the group preview, they have spent big ahead of this season and will be much fresher going into the game than the Portuguese outfit who arrive off the back of a lengthy campaign. Porto are a fading force in Portugal and I expect Palmeiras to come away with a win and open up the door to the knockout stages here.
I’ll go with one in the closer for Sunday as well where the 13/8 on Seattle Sounders to go scoreless in their match with Botafogo offers up some value. Much is being made of the Sounders having home advantage, and while there is no doubt that will help, they aren’t exactly a free scoring side and are facing a team who have conceded just seven goals in their 11 games in the Brazil league this season. It remains to be seen how much we should make of Botafogo being the Copa Libertadores champions because much has changed in their ranks since then and their league results highlight that. The Brazilians have kept four clean sheets in their last six in the Brazilian league and Copa Libertadores though while prior to scoring twice in a crazy game with Minnesota United last time out, Seattle had scored three times in their previous four games against leakier defences than this Botafogo one. The Sounders lack a focal point to their attack so the 13/8 on the Brazilians keeping a clean sheet in a match they know they have to win appeals to me to round off the day.
Tips
Back Bayern Munich (-4.5AH) to beat Auckland City for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
Back Palmeiras (-0.25AH) to beat Porto for a 3/10 stake at 1.93 with Bet365
Back Seattle Sounders – Under 0.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Bet365
