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Palmeiras were extremely unfortunate to not beat Porto in their opening match. Having finished with an xG of 2.08, it was down to the heroics of goalkeeper Claudio Ramos that prevented the Brazilians from humiliating the European side.
But there’s work to do for Palmeiras and they have a great opportunity to rectify that once again in New Jersey. Verdao will play at the same stadium, which was filled with Palmeiras fans, while Al Ahly will travel from Miami - and will be without their star man.
Emam Ashour came off inside 20 minutes against Inter Miami and their top goalscorer and most creative outlet will miss the match. The Egyptians looked tired in the second half, while Palmeiras finished strong against Porto, making the use of their large squad.
Abel Ferreira has so many high profile names on the bench, which could be the difference once more on Thursday. With the likes of Paulinho, Raphael Veiga and Allan at his disposal, PALMEIRAS should brush Al Ahly aside, and combining a WIN for the Brazilians with UNDER 4.5 GOALS appeals.
Inter Miami were incredibly fortunate to not have been at least two or three goals down by half-time against Al Ahly.
Their defence completely fell apart and although Oscar Ustari came to their rescue with nine saves - including a penalty - the 38-year-old can’t continue to bail them out.
Javier Mascherano changed formation at the break and his team began to dominate in the second half in favourable conditions, but still failed to create anything substantial. Porto, having blown away a few cobwebs, should be ready for this encounter.
RODRIGO MORA was at the heart of everything positive Porto did against Palmeiras, and if he gets half the space Al Ahly’s attackers did, the 18-year-old can help his team secure three valuable points, and looks a value bet TO SCORE ANYTIME.
Inter Miami’s defence was all at sea in their opener, and even if Mascherano reverts back to a four man defence, stopping Mora will be a tall order. The young star will be looking to pounce on any more mistakes they are likely to make.
Both teams started their Club World Cup campaign with defeats and so a win is vital if either side is serious about qualifying for the knockout stage. With so much money on the line, both teams will have to dust themselves down and be ready to go again.
Atletico Madrid’s performance against PSG was disappointing and unprofessional, as they completely lost control. A repeat of that would be worrying, but against a much weaker opponent, Diego Simeone doesn’t have to wait long to rectify their performance. We all know how well he can bounce back if a reaction is required.
Seattle Sounders - despite playing in their own back yard - failed to get going and found themselves 2-0 down against Botafogo within the first half. The MLS side conceded two headers - something Atletico will have spotted and will hope to take advantage of.
They rallied and scored to halve the deficit but overall, their performance wasn’t good enough. Keeping Julian Alvarez quiet is a tall order on its own, let alone worrying about preventing the Spanish side from scoring set pieces. The favourites can get back on track, and backing ATLETICO -1.5 ASIAN HANDICAP is a nice way in (this is the same bet as the traditional -1 handicap).
Bookmakers believe this will be a walkover for Juventus. At skinny odds of just 1/5, the Italians shouldn’t have an issue against their Asian opponents. And while that may be true, Al Ain have two top strikers that may cause Juventus’ back line some issues.
Step forward Kodjo Laba who has scored over 100 goals for Al Ain since 2021 - including 20 in 21 league appearances this season. And where Al Ain may cause some problems is that they have another striker who is just as prolific. Soufiane Rahimi scored 11 goals in 26 matches this season, as well as five in seven AFC Champions League games.
The season prior, the Moroccan won the golden boot in the AFC Champions League with 13 goals in as many matches. In a 4-3-3 formation, Al Ain may be overrun and exposed in the middle of the park - which is why Juventus can dominate and win the match.
But up against two capable goalscorers may catch them out if they believe they can simply turn up and roll the UAE club over. It should be simple for the Italians - but Al Ain’s attack is simply too good to ignore, so backing BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND OVER 2.5 GOALS makes sense.
Odds correct at 1700 BST (17/06/25)
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