All eight groups in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup consist of four teams. Group G will include these four teams: Manchester City, Juventus, Al Ain, and Wydad Casablanca. Those four will fight for the top two spots in the group to advance to the tournament’s knockout stages. Here are their odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to advance:
Let’s take a look at the years all four clubs have had, then predict who will advance and make our picks.
Manchester City
For just about any club, a top-three finish in the league alongside a domestic cup final appearance would be a smashing success. For Man City, it’s a colossal disappointment.
City came into this season looking to win a fifth straight Premier League title, but they fell 13 points shy of the league-winning Liverpool side. They also lost in the FA Cup Final for a second consecutive year, this time to a Crystal Palace side far behind City in quality. To add insult to injury, they didn’t even make it to the Round of 16 of the Champions League. It was a far cry from their treble in 2023, and things were going to change.
The Citizens have already made three key signings early in the transfer window. First, they acquired AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders for 70 million euros. Then came reinforcements: attacking winger Cherki from Lyon, and wide back Aït-Nouri from Premier League side Wolverhampton. City are not shy to put their money where their mouth is, and the signings kick off a summer of changes. Most notable is the departure of club legend Kevin De Bruyne, who leaves for Napoli after more than a decade at the Etihad.
The Club World Cup isn’t the main prize for City’s revenge tour. It is an excellent chance for them to sort out how this new squad functions. All signs point to the trio of new signings being ready for the upcoming tournament; now it’s up to tactical genius Pep Guardiola to fit the pieces in place.
Juventus
If you think City have fallen from grace, Juventus makes them pale in comparison. From 2012 to 2020, the Bianconeri won nine straight domestic titles. Here are their Serie A finishes since then: fourth, fourth, seventh, third, fourth. Once a destination for some of the top talent in the world, Juve has failed to attract that talent in recent years. It leaves them asking questions and failing to find answers. Even the most casual footy fan would recognize some of the names below:
Gone are the days of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala. There’s still some elite talent in Turin, but not on the level the fans are accustomed to. This Club World Cup is a chance for Juve to re-establish themselves as a threat not only in Italy but on the European stage.
Al-Ain
This is where the stark dropoff begins in the group. From a yearly “best in Europe” candidate, to a Power 5 League contender, to a fifth-place side in the UAE Pro League.
Granted, Al-Ain earned their way here by winning the Asian Football Champions League in 2023/24. But they’re far from the quality of the top two sides. According to the Football Database, Al-Ain is the 422nd-ranked club in all of world football. For comparison, Manchester City is eighth, and Juventus is 22nd. It’s a colossal gulf that I don’t expect the UAE side to overcome. Let’s hope they can leave this tournament with some dignity.
Wydad Casablanca
Al-Ain isn’t even the Group G club with the most dire chances of making it out. Wydad Casablanca, third in the Moroccan Pro League, has 11 to 1 odds to qualify from the group, and 50 to 1 to win outright. It’s safe to say this is an intimidating level of competition they are not used to.
Wydad qualified by winning the CAF Champions League in 2022. That crowned them the best team in Africa for that season. They won the Botola Pro League in 2022 as well, beating out rivals Raja Casablanca by three points. Historically, Wydad is one of the more successful clubs in Morocco, and in Africa as a whole. Still, it doesn’t mean much when going up against the beasts of Europe. Winning enough points to get ahead of either Man City or Juventus may prove too tall a task.
Prediction and Pick
Perhaps no group in this tournament has more chalk potential. City and Juventus are so far ahead of the other two, it feels impossible to pick anything other than the European sides advancing. The question is who can win the group between those two.
City will come into this one motivated. With big sales due and shakeups coming, many players will be looking to keep their spot in the club with a strong performance. Therefore, I’m taking City 1st/Juventus 2nd at +150. A nine-point group stage performance for the Citizens wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
