Two more matches in the FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 take place in America on Sunday on a day where we see some of the biggest club sides in the world looking to book their spot in the quarter final of this very intriguing tournament.
We see stars everywhere you look on Sunday as two of the best teams in Europe take on the best that North and South America have to offer on what looks like being a very entertaining day of football given the personnel on show.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter Miami (17.00 – Channel 5 & DAZN)
All eyes will be on Atlanta on Sunday afternoon when Lionel Messi and his current Inter Miami side go up against his former employers in the form of the Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in a blockbuster match.
This will be billed as something special because of the Messi effect but in truth this has the potential to be a real mismatch, or at least it should be if Paris Saint-Germain are on it. Inter Miami have done brilliantly well to make it into the last 16 of this competition. You can argue that they had a favourable group draw if you wish but for an MLS team to be at this stage of a tournament like this is a landmark achievement. I’m pretty sure that their run ends here and it does so emphatically because this Miami defence is just there for the taking and PSG are just the side to put it to the sword. There is no pace in this Miami defence and PSG probably bring more pace in their front line than any team in the competition. There is a chance that Messi might do something going the other way but you would imagine that PSG will be given the task of keeping him quiet and if they are able to limit his impact then this could be a long day at the office for the Floridians. The handicap for this one is 2.5 goals. I think that is more than achievable for the champions of Europe, especially when you consider that in their three group games Miami conceded xG totals of 1.98 against Al Ahly, 1.65 to Porto and 1.49 to Palmeiras. Give those chances to PSG and it shouldn’t end well.
Flamengo vs Bayern Munich (21.00 – Channel 5 & DAZN)
The second match of the day on Sunday takes us to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami where we have a South America against Europe battle for the first time in the knockout stages when Flamengo go up against Bayern Munich.
Flamengo could be forgiven for thinking that by winning Group D their reward would have been something much easier than a clash with the Bundesliga champions but that is tournament football for you. In saying that, Bayern haven’t completely convinced in this competition to date and have actually looked a little leggy at times in their recent matches. Vincent Kompany has tried to keep his squad as fresh as possible which will certainly help but they go up against a Brazilian side here who were also able to make wholesale changes in their last group match. Initially I thought quotes around the 8/11 mark was a value price for Bayern and it might turn out to be the case, but I’ve come to the conclusion that Flamengo merit more respect than that. With that in mind, I’ll look towards the player markets for a bet on this one where Michael Olise is the man on my radar. I’ve already backed him to be the player of the tournament so I am expecting big things from him anyway but you can actually get odds against on him having over 2.5 shots and that feels a little too big to me. He has only played one 90 minutes in this tournament and he had four shots against Boca Juniors. He played 45 minutes in the other two games and registered two shots in each. Olise came into the tournament on a run of nine straight matches in all competitions for Bayern where he had at least three shots and that makes me think that the odds against on him having three more here is just too big.
Tips
Back Paris Saint-Germain (-2EH) to beat Inter Miami for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Unibet
Back M.Olise – Over 2.5 shots for a 3/10 stake at 2.40 with Betfair
