Real Madrid vs Al Hilal Prediction & Betting Tips - FIFA Club World Cup

Prediction published on 09/02/2023, 13:07  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 11/02/2023 at 06:00 in Football Predictions

Real Madrid bid to win the Club World Cup for the first time since 2018. They take on Al Hilal in the final on Sunday hoping to add the world crown to their Spanish and European titles. The Spaniards already hold the record for most wins in this competition with four so far. 12 games have been played by them in the Club World Cup and they are yet to be beaten with 11 goals scored in their last three matches. They took on Al Ahly in the semi-finals and it took them 42 minutes to break the deadlock. One minute into the second half they went 2-0 up but their opponents pulled a goal back with a penalty in the 65th minute. The score remained 2-1 until added time when Real scored in the 92nd and 98th minutes to make the result look a bit more convincing than it actually was. Real Madrid have only lost one of their last seven games. That was the 1-0 loss at Mallorca last weekend that has left them eight points behind leaders Barcelona.

Al Hilal are the first Saudi Arabian club to reach the Club World Cup final. They won the AFC Champions League in 2021 and that led to them being nominated to take part in this championship. They have previously appeared in the Club World Cup in 2019 and 2021. Four years ago they lost to Flamengo in the semi-finals and then lost the third/fourth place play-off to Monterrey on penalties. 2021 followed the same pattern with a fourth place finish. They lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the last four and then lost 4-0 to Al-Ahly in the play-off. This time though they have at last made it into the final. It's been a bit of a struggle though with a penalty shootout needed to beat Wydad Casablanca in the second round. A 94th minute penalty was needed to level the scores at the end of regular time. That win took them into a semi-final against Flamengo which they won 3-2 with two of their goals coming from the penalty spot. Al Hilal are fourth in the Saudi Professional League five points behind the leaders with a game in hand. The task of beating Real Madrid looks well beyond them, back the Spanish side to win this match and lead at both half and full time.