Preview: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Manchester City – Prediction, Team News, Line-ups

Manchester City will be in action again on Tuesday as they take on Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds in the semi-final of the Club World Cup. 

The Citizens qualified for the club competition because they were the European Champions last season. But Mexican side Urawa had to beat Leon to make it to the final four. 

Match Preview 

Urawa won the AFC Champions League last year, beating Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal in the final. 

They will now be bidding to pull off another huge achievement by beating Manchester City and qualify for the Club World Cup final. 

Maciej Skorża’s side will enter Tuesday’s match on the back of a 1-0 victory over Leon in the second round of the competition earlier this week. 

Both sides failed to break the deadlock before Alex Schalk provided the breakthrough in the 78th-minute. 

Any hopes of a comeback for the Mexican outfit ended after William Tesillo received his marching orders for a pair of bookable offences as Urawa sealed a 1-0 success. 

Maciej Skorża’s men now face a very challenging task as they face English giants Manchester City. 

You will not find City’s name in the Club World Cup winners list, but they are among the best teams in the world.

The Citizens claimed a continental treble last season but they have failed to maintain those levels this term. 

Injuries to key players have played a part but still their performances in recent weeks have been very disappointing. 

Saturday’s 2-2 stalemate against Crystal Palace was their fourth draw from the last six top-flight matches, with the result dropping them to fourth in the Premier League standings. 

City were comfortably winning the game after goals from Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis. 

But Jean-Philippe Mateta scored to reduce the deficit with 14 minutes remaining. Then in stoppage time, Michael Olise struck to earn a point for his side. 

Team News 

Urawa will be without some of their key players for the upcoming fixture. Takahiro Akimoto, Takahiro Sekine and Tomoaki Okubo all picked up knocks during the match against Leon, and they are all set to sit outside on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, in a positive Manchester City news, Erling Haaland’s recent injury is not thought to be very serious and he should be available for selection. But manager Pep Guardiola will likely feature Julian Alvarez for the semi-final match. The Spanish boss is also expected to make many other changes in the team. 

Urawa Red Diamonds vs Manchester City potential line-ups 

Urawa Red Diamonds: Nishikawa; Sakai, Scholz, Hoibraten, Ogiwara; Iwao, Ito; Schalk, Yasui, Koizumi; Kante

Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gomez; Nunes, Kovacic; Bobb, Silva, Grealish; Alvarez

Urawa Red Diamonds vs Manchester City prediction 

Manchester City are one of the best teams in the world. They should ease past Urawa on Tuesday, even though the English team will likely comprise fringe players. 

Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 Manchester City