Real Madrid vs Al Hilal
Two of the highest profile managers in the game have been on the move in recent weeks, and now Xabi Alonso and Simone Inzaghi come face to face in a mouth-watering Club World Cup Group H clash.
La Liga giants Real Madrid take on Saudi Pro League heavyweights Al Hilal at the Rock Stadium in Miami on Wednesday and the Spanish side are looking to shake off the hangover of a rare trophyless campaign. Meanwhile Inzaghi’s Al Hilal are hoping to usher in a new era for their club, and Saudi football in general, as they look to impress against the more established teams in world football.
Talking Points
Real Madrid begin the Alonso era
As soon as he had broken Bayern Munich’s decade long stranglehold over the Bundesliga, leading Bayer Leverkusen to the 2024 German league title, Alonso became red hot property, and Real Madrid immediately targeted him as their man to take over from the departed Carlo Ancelotti.
Los Blancos were wounded by a season of despair as they watched Barcelona pick up a domestic treble last term, while the Catalans won all four El Clasicos. That is a bitter pill for Real Madrid fans to swallow and they are hoping for a serious reaction from their team under a new manager. We’ll get on with our SBOTOP tips for La Liga 2025/26 and the next Champions League in good time, but for now Alonso has his mind firmly focused on Club World Cup 2025 results.
The new man will have his Galacticos at near full strength with the front line of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior all available, with playmaker Jude Bellingham in behind. And the England midfielder has just welcomed a close friend to the Madrid club.
Player to watch: Trent Alexander-Arnold
It was the worst kept secret in European football and, last Thursday, Real Madrid unveiled Trent Alexander-Arnold as their new player after he completed his much anticipated move from Liverpool.
The 26 year old made 259 appearances for Liverpool and has 34 England caps, and he was a key part of Liverpool’s Premier League successes in 2020 and 2025 as a prolific assist maker with superb delivery. His defensive play has come under scrutiny at times and he has also been used as a midfielder, but there is no doubting Trent’s quality on the ball and he has a wicked free-kick. He is lightly to start at right back and Trent may line up alongside another new recruit, with centre back Dean Huijsen likely to sit alongside David Alaba in the middle of the back four.
Al Hilal’s chance to advertise
The Club World Cup is an opportunity for Al Hilal to show they can compete with the best teams on the planet and that they can offer incoming players football of a high standard as well as a wheelbarrow full of cash. Inzaghi’s move to the Saudi Pro league was a surprise to many in Europe and the Saudi club is hoping he can bring some stellar talent with him. But it hasn’t been easy for Al Hilal to attract the very best, already snubbed by Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen in recent weeks. Fernandes has committed himself to the struggling Red Devils while Osimhen seems to favour a move to Turkey, with Galatasaray favourites to sign the Nigerian star.
They finished the Saudi Pro League in second place to Al Ittihad, with 26 wins, six draws and four losses while Al Hilal scored a whopping 95 goals in 34 games, with a dangerous attack which will stretch the Madrid defence.
Player to watch: Aleksandar Mitrovic
30 year old Serbian hitman Mitrovic has scored 47 goals in 51 games over his two seasons in Saudi; and that is no surprise from a man who plundered 97 goals in 173 outings for Fulham, between the Premier League and the Championship, as well as racking up 62 goals in 100 caps for Serbia.
He’s a powerful striker with strong running and a bullet of a shot, and Mitrovic dovetails well with his quick-footed and skilful skipper Salem Al-Dawarsi who has contributed 15 goals this season. Premier League fans will also recognise midfield playmaker Ruben Neves, who graced the English top flight with Wolverhampton Wanderers. But the Real Madrid vs Al Hilal predictions are going to back goals; and I wouldn’t bet against Mitrovic getting on the score sheet.
History
Al Hilal are 19 times winners of the Saudi Pro League but they come up against a team with global recognition as one of the greatest of all time.
Real Madrid have won La Liga 36 times and have been champions of Europe 15 times, and when the two teams met in the 2023 Club World Cup final, Los Blancos ran out 5-3 winners as Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde both bagged a brace.
In terms of recent form both teams have four wins from the last six games, Real Madrid losing two in that sequence while Al Hilal have lost one and drawn one.
Betting Tip
Los Blancos are hot favourites at 1.27 to win this opener with Al Hilal priced at 7.04 and the Draw is 5.32; while the Double Chance Al Hilal or Draw is at 3.24 and Al Hilal with the +1.50 advantage is available at 2.04. But I’m backing Alonso to get the better of Inzaghi in the battle of the dugouts.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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