🔊 Will Al-Hilal make it to the Club World Cup playoffs? The Saudi side entered as the second favorite in their group behind Real Madrid, but they find themselves in third place heading into the final round. Their fate isn't entirely in their hands now. They need to defeat Pachuca and hope for a favorable result in the parallel match. If Real and Salzburg play out a high-scoring draw of 2-2 or more, the "Blues" will be heading home. As for the Mexican representative, they've got nothing to lose. A win would merely lift Pachuca off the bottom spot, but that's still a decent motivation.

Head-to-Head

📊 Al-Hilal and Pachuca have never faced each other on the football pitch.

Al Hilal Riyadh Team Overview

🔵 Even though Simone Inzaghi's side doesn't have everything in their hands heading into the final round, they've had a solid tournament. The team surprised everyone in their opener by holding Real to a 1-1 draw and later shared the spoils with Salzburg in a goalless stalemate. Both sides had plenty of chances, yet somehow the ball never found the net. It might be fair to say the "Blues" haven't been clinical in front of goal. They accumulated an xG of 3.17 but managed to score just once, and that too from a penalty.

🔝 So far, two players have stood out for Al-Hilal. Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves has been orchestrating play from the center, while goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has been impressive between the posts. The Moroccan saved a penalty against Madrid and made several outstanding stops against Salzburg, earning a rating of 8.0.

Pachuca Team Overview

🔵 Pachuca entered the tournament in poor form, having won just 1 of their last 5 matches. It's no surprise they struggled in such esteemed company. However, the "Gophers" had opportunities to earn points. They were not outplayed by Salzburg (1-2), and against Real Madrid (1-3), they spent nearly the entire match with a man advantage, yet it didn't help. Despite 25 shots and an xG of 1.5, Jaime Lozano's side only found the net in the 80th minute when they were already trailing 0-3.

🔝 Among the nominal visitors, the standout is the charismatic Brazilian Kenedy, who joined Pachuca from Real Valladolid for the duration of the World Cup. While he hasn't registered any goals or assists, he has been a valuable presence on the field in both matches. His rating hasn't dropped below 7.0 so far.

Latest news

Al Hilal Riyadh

🎙 "We've been training with Inzaghi for a week, and I think we can already see his impact. I believe the team has shown excellent results both physically and tactically. We've played some fantastic matches. However, as I've said before, it's not enough to play great matches and not win. So in the next game, we'll strive to perform even better," says Ruben Neves regarding playing under the new coach.

❌ Al-Hilal will seemingly have to manage once again without their main forward. Aleksandar Mitrovic is still recovering from a muscle injury. The Saudi Pro League runners-up have no other absences to report.

Pachuca

🎙 "We needed to crush Real, but we didn't know how to do it. I'm very angry because we had the chance, and it was our last opportunity to stay in the tournament. I wanted to win, but we couldn't, even though we played well. It was a unique chance to beat Real. We didn't think we could do it, but the opportunity was there," said a frustrated Pachuca coach Jaime Lozano after the defeat.

❌ The Mexican team also has just one player out, but it's old news by now. Defender Andrés Micolta hasn't been on the pitch since February.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

⚽️ Goal Prediction

As previously noted, Al-Hilal have been underperforming in terms of goals by the third round. The team have created significantly more chances than they've converted, and a breakthrough seems imminent. Why not in the decisive match against Pachuca, who lack tournament motivation? With this logic in mind, we suggest betting on Al-Hilal's individual total over 1.5 goals.

🚩 Corner Prediction

Both teams boast strong trends in corners, which you can explore in the relevant section. Therefore, the match should be prolific in this aspect. A solid betting option would be total over 9.5 corners, which has hit in 6 of Al-Hilal's last 7 matches.

Al-Hilal need a victory, and they certainly deserve to achieve it. The team plays an attractive brand of football and could well aim for a surprise in the playoffs. Pachuca are also putting in the effort, but they clearly lack individual skill and tactical discipline. Therefore, we believe the Mexican league representative will finish the Club World Cup without earning any points. We anticipate a high-scoring match, ending with a 3-1 result, and we're backing Al-Hilal to win.