🔊 What are the odds of Inter dropping points again? In the second round of the Club World Cup, the Milan side will face Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds, who only reinforced their status as the main underdogs of Group E in their first match. Inter need to secure points in this clash to feel more confident ahead of their encounter with River Plate. It's hard to envision the Japanese team posing any real threat to the Italians—it's no wonder the odds heavily favor an Inter victory. So, what insightful prediction can our editorial team offer?

Head-to-Head

📊 As of now, these teams have never faced each other in either official or friendly matches.

Inter Milano Team Overview

🔵 The Club World Cup kicked off for the "Nerazzurri" with a match against Mexican side Monterrey. The game was fairly balanced in terms of chances. After a goal from Sergio Ramos, the Italians responded with a well-executed free-kick, finished by captain Lautaro Martinez. Despite the apparent balance, statistics on xG, possession, and corners suggest that Inter deserved the win. However, they couldn't secure all three points, and now the Milan side needs to pick up points against Urawa Red Diamonds and Argentina's River Plate to keep their hopes of advancing from the group alive. It's worth noting that this match marked the debut of Romanian coach Cristian Chivu as the head coach of the "Nerazzurri."

Urawa Red Diamonds Team Overview

🔴 Urawa Reds are the only team in the group to have suffered a defeat in the opening round, falling to the might of Argentina's River Plate (1-3). However, it's unfair to say Urawa went down without a fight. The team leveled the score after conceding the first goal, thanks to captain Marius Hoibraten, but the goal was disallowed for offside. In the second half, the Japanese side conceded again after a bizarre defensive error from Hoibraten. Yet, just ten minutes later, Yusuke Matsuo converted a penalty to narrow the deficit. Urawa's players had another half-hour to try and turn things around, but they soon conceded a third goal. Despite the result, the stats don't favor the Argentinians: Urawa outperformed River Plate in expected goals (xG) and shots on target. This suggests that Urawa should not be underestimated.

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Inter Milano

🎙 Cristian Chivu shared his thoughts after the match against Monterrey: “We played well in the first half, even though we were trailing. We needed to be smarter and avoid getting caught offside so often. In the second half, we slowed down but still created a few chances – we just lacked aggression in front of goal.”

📝 Rumors are increasingly linking Turkish playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu with a potential move to Galatasaray. According to media reports, the midfielder has already agreed on personal terms with the “Lions,” and now the club needs to negotiate a transfer fee with Inter that will satisfy the Italians.

🤝 Former Inter player and left-back Aleksandar Kolarov has joined Cristian Chivu's coaching staff as an assistant. Previously, he led Serbia's U21 national team and held the position of sporting director at Italian club Pisa.

❌ Yann Bisseck, Hakan Calhanoglu, Denzel Dumfries, and Piotr Zielinski might miss the upcoming match, just like they did in the first round. Additionally, Mehdi Taremi did not travel to the tournament – his departure from Iran was prohibited due to military-political reasons.

Urawa Red Diamonds

🎙 Urawa's captain, Norwegian Marius Hoibraten, notably did not greet River Plate's players, the referee, or his assistants before the match. Initially, the reason behind the 30-year-old defender's behavior was unclear. However, he soon issued a clarification and an apology: "To the River Plate fans. I forgot to shake hands because the situation was new to me. I was confused, focused on myself, and didn't realize I was supposed to do it. So I walked away without greeting the opponents. It seemed like I didn't care about the players and fans, but that wasn't my intention. I apologized to the players in the locker room after the match, and now I apologize to you as well."

❌ The team will be without defensive midfielder Kai Shibato, who is still recovering from a knee injury and won't be able to help in the tournament.

⚽ Goal Prediction

⚽ Goal Prediction

Despite Inter conceding goals in recent matches outside of Italian competitions—against Feyenoord, Bayern, Barcelona, PSG, and now Monterrey—we still believe their defense remains one of the strongest in Europe. While the departure of Simone Inzaghi might change things, a club of this caliber should not be allowing goals from Urawa Red Diamonds. With all due respect, the Japanese side are clear underdogs in the group. Our goal prediction: both teams to score – no.

🚩 Corner Prediction

In their first match, the Nerazzurri outperformed Monterrey in terms of corners, delivering from the flank six times compared to the Mexicans' four attempts. Meanwhile, Urawa ended their game with River evenly matched in this statistic—one corner each. Clearly, Inter are expected to dominate most key statistical metrics in the upcoming match. Considering their anticipated dominance and Urawa's limited approaches towards Yann Sommer's goal, we suggest focusing on the bet: Inter to win on corners with a -2.5 handicap.

It's reasonable to predict that Inter will outscore Urawa Reds. The level of competition in Europe is significantly higher than in Asia; just a month ago, the Italians were competing for a treble, while Urawa are only fifth in the Japanese league. The quality of Cristian Chivu's squad clearly surpasses that of Maciej Skorża's team. Additionally, after a draw in the first round, Inter need to avoid any unnecessary pressure ahead of their clash with River Plate—they can't afford to drop points here. We anticipate a dominant win for the Milan side, keeping a clean sheet with a likely scoreline of 3-0. The recommended bet is Inter to win with a -1.5 handicap.