Al-Ittihad and Auckland City face each other this Tuesday afternoon, December 12, 2023, starting at 3pm, in a game valid for the round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup. The match will be played at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ittihad
Entering the field with huge favoritism, the Al-Ittihad team has a qualified squad after several important reinforcements in the last transfer window, such as midfielders Kanté and Fabinho, as well as center forward Karim Benzema, who was already voted best of the world.
The team presents a notable improvement in its performance both in the Saudi elite and in the Asian Champions League.
Therefore, the team arrives excited for this match, considering that the FIFA Club World Cup appears as an excellent opportunity to further increase the visibility of their club as it seeks to gain relevance in world football, therefore, qualifying for the quarter-finals of the tournament is almost an obligatory step towards their aspirations.
However, their most recent duel was a 3-1 defeat away from home to Damac, in the Saudi Pro League, frustrating their fans before their long-awaited World Cup debut.
They recorded 3 wins, 1 draw and only 1 defeat in the last 5 times they entered the field officially during the season. During this period they beat Sepahan, Al-Khaleej and also OKMK, in addition to drawing with Al-Ettifaq and losing to Damac.
Having the advantage of playing in their country, the Al-Ittihad team must count on the support of the stands in their games and in the last 10 times they entered the field as home team they recorded 7 wins, 1 draw and only 2 defeats.
Auckland City
On the other side is the Auckland City squad, which in turn has had three consecutive defeats by the national elite, but has plenty of experience in participating in the Club World Cup, being a notable figure in the competition.
However, the New Zealand team never managed to go very far in the tournament, considering that the team is usually eliminated in the first phase, which also tends to happen this Tuesday, unless the team achieves a significant competitive evolution to be able to dispatch the Al-Ittihad.
There were 2 wins, no draws and 3 defeats in the last 5 official matches of the season, beating Auckland United and Petone, in addition to losing to Christchurch and also to Wellington Olympic.
Playing away from home, the Auckland City team recorded 7 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats in the last 10 matches played in this condition.
Conclusion:
Owner of a technically much more qualified squad than their opponents, the expectation is that Al-Ittihad will have maximum strength available to be able to confirm their favoritism on a historic day for the club, which has total conditions to deliver a resounding rout over the modest Auckland City.