A blockbuster clash awaits the MetLife stadium, as UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain take on Real Madrid in the second semi-final of the Club World Cup.
Tuesday night saw Chelsea’s new boy Joao Pedro announce himself in all-blue, as he scored twice in a 2-0 victory over Brazil’s Fluminense – booking their place in the final.
Now the attention turns to two European heavyweights hoping to be first to crown themselves champions of the world, under the tournament’s new format.
In the last round, both sides overcame a dramatic stoppage time to defeat their respective German opponents, writes Sport Preview‘s Callum Close.
Ousmane Dembele netted PSG’s second in their 2-0 win over Bayern Munich, whilst they were down to nine players, after both Lucas Hernandez and Willian Pacho saw red.
They also survived a late penalty scare, as ‘VAR’ overturned an on-field decision to award Bayern a late penalty.
The result attributed to a run of three consecutive matches without the Parisians conceding a goal.
Meanwhile, Real were 2-0 up in the match against Borussia Dortmund, heading into added time, but the Spaniards conceded twice – either side of a Kylian Mbappe goal – which meant they ended up winning 3-2.
‘Los Blancos’ suffered a sending off of their own, when new signing Dean Huijsen was shown red a minute after Mbappe’s goal.
New manager Xabi Alonso is yet to suffer defeat in charge of his former club – who have promised a one million euros bonus to every player should they win the competition.
A cracking watch
This match is sure to be a cracking watch, with plenty of angles for punters to look at when placing their bets.
Both teams are very evenly matched, which is reflected in the odds – PSG are slight favourites (13/10) with Real trading at 19/10.
With both sides missing key defenders, I expect their formidable attacks to shine and for punters looking for added value, I think that 9/1 for both teams to score in both halves looks very decent.
However, my selection is going to be on player markets, specifically shots on target and fouls.
Garcia and Dembele 1+ shot on target
Real’s Gonzalo Garcia in red-hot form, scoring five goals and assisting once in his last seven games, and it is 1/2 odds for him to have a shot on target in this match.
When combining that with Dembele to have a shot on target – three shots as a substitute in his last match – you get evens.
Tchouameni and Valverde 1+ foul – 4/1 (Bet365)
I will also add Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde both to commit at least one foul, with them conceding three and two, respectively, in the Dortmund match.
These added together is best priced with Bet365, at 12/5, but I will also throw in over 2.5 goals in the match.
Bet365 have my bet-builder priced at 4/1.
