Manchester City face Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Pep Guardiola’s side are fresh off the back of being the only side to win all three of their group stage matches, scoring 13 goals in the process and impressing with their entertaining football.
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, caused something of a surprise by qualifying from their group unbeaten, including draws against Real Madrid and RB Salzburg.
The winner of this game will face either Inter or Fluminese in the quarter final, with the game kicking off at 8pm this evening.
Here are five things to look out for as City take on the 19 time Saudi League Champions:
Cancelo vs Doku
Al Hilal v CF Pachuca: Group H - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Photo by Heuler Andrey/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Certainly the most interesting one vs one duel on the pitch will be to see how former City player Joao Cancelo copes with the in form Jeremy Doku.
Cancelo, 31, was on City’s books between 2019-2024, and for two and a half years was one of the best full backs in the league and contributed massively to the title wins in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
But after the 2022 World Cup, he was dropped for a teenage Rico Lewis, and ended up leaving the club for 18 months on loan at Bayern Munich then Barcelona before joining Al-Hilal permanently.
Cancelo always impressed going forwards (essentially being an extra attacking midfielder) but was vulnerable defensively.
Doku has shown throughout his City career that he’s a brilliant one vs one dribbler, and he’s had a magnificent Club World Cup so far with two goals in two games.
He’s finally starting to show some consistent end product, and with that comes increased output.
Cancelo, however, had a good game against Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior so it’ll be an intriguing battle that could decide the outcome of the game.
Rodri starting on the bench
Juventus FC v Manchester City FC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Yes, he started and completed 65 minutes against Juventus completely incident free, but that doesn’t mean Rodri is now completely back in the frame.
Recovery from a long term knee injury requires special protection from niggles or more serious injuries, and with the short turn around of games coming up, I think Rodri will be mostly rested from this game.
I expect him to play some part - probably at least 20 minutes from the bench, depending on the scoreline. But with a possible quarter final and semi final coming up inside the next week, this seems like the best opportunity to not start the current Ballon D’or holder.
Nico Gonzalez hasn’t played much at this tournament so far, but I expect him to start against the Saudi champions to provide the physicality in midfield with Rodri missing.
Foden, Haaland and Gvardiol coming back in
Juventus FC v Manchester City FC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Photo by Elsa - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Of City’s first three games, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden have only started one match each.
Gvardiol and Haaland were City’s two most important players last season, whilst Foden had a poor year struggling with form and fitness but looks much happier and sharper with two goals already this tournament.
I expect all three of them to start against Simone Inzaghi’s side, as they’re three of the most influential players on the team and so they can build up their fitness ahead of a potential quarter final and semi final.
Al-Hilal’s threat on the break
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City’s opponents, however, are much better than Wydad and Al Ain.
Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, Bono and Kalidou Koulibaly are experienced, established players to build around as the core of their team, and they’ve caused problems for RB Salzburg and most notably European giants Real Madrid.
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s injury means Al-Hilal are playing a more fluid attack without him, making them deadly on the counter.
City have still struggled in this department (conceding two very soft goals against Juventus last time out) so there’s very much a chance the Saudi Pro League side under new management could cause them some serious problems.
Another win for an improving City team
Juventus FC v Manchester City FC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Photo by Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
It’s the knockout stages, and anything can happen in this level of football, but City are surely clear favourites to progress.
Al-Hilal did well to cause Real Madrid problems, but City dismantled a better side in Juventus.
Not just are City playing winning football again, but we’ve seen signs of more entertaining football too, with high tempo passing and goals galore.
The new players, returning players and the coaching staff revamp means the Blues are on their way back to the top again, and you’d expect them to follow that up by beating Simone Inzaghi’s side.