RB Salzburg – Al-Hilal Riyadh

The Austrian team will not be able to face the favourite on equal terms

Salzburg came to the Club World Cup as potentially the weakest team from Europe. This was also evident in the bookmaker quotes, which "did not guarantee" the Austrians to even make it out of the group. The first match of the tournament Red Bull Salzburg held against Pachuca, considered the underdog of Group H. The meeting of the rivals was held with a marked advantage of the European team. Already in the first half Salzburg managed to score a goal in the gate Mexicans. In the middle of the second half Pachuca managed to equalise the score, but on 76 minutes Salzburg took the lead again, setting the final score 2:1 on the scoreboard. Al-Hilal were considered Salzburg's main rivals for the second play-off spot before the tournament started. The club from Saudi Arabia failed to win their game, but pleased their fans to an even greater extent than Salzburg. That's because Al-Hilal's opponent was Real Madrid, who Neves and company gave a good thrashing. After conceding first, Simone Inzaghi's men equalised with a fair penalty. In the second half, Al-Hilal acted just as brightly, but the score remained unchanged - 1:1. Bookmakers have identified the club from Saudi Arabia as the favourite for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.87 on its victory. There are many explanations for Real Madrid's unsuccessful game in the first game of Group H. Firstly, there is a new coach with his own vision, including in the formation of the starting line-up. Secondly, many players who claim to be Madrid's main players were not able to take the field. However, the Al Hilal players cannot be taken away from their merits. Inzaghi's players acted with courage and determination. Often the team drove Real Madrid into a positional defence and created chances. If the fervour of Al-Hilal players remains the same, it will be hard for Salzburg to contain their opponents. Recall that the Austrian team for the last couple of years has lost the status of a dominant team even in their own country. There is no need to talk about success in the European arena. For Al-Hilal, the loss of points in a meeting with a direct competitor can be very expensive. Let's bet on the victory of the club from Saudi Arabia.