The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup began Friday night with a match between Messi’s Inter Miami and Al Ahly. With that outing in the books, a four-game slate takes center stage to truly kick things into action on Saturday.
One of the most interesting fixtures on the schedule is Paris Saint-Germain vs. Atletico Madrid as the freshly-crowned UEFA Champions League winners battle a historic La Liga squad.
Here’s a PSG vs. Atletico Madrid prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Group B in the FIFA Club World Cup.
PSG vs. Atletico Madrid prediction, pick
It’d be impossible to preview this fixture without discussing Paris Saint-Germain’s recent victory in the Champions League. A 5-0 trouncing of Inter Milan in the final showed just what this club is capable of as they captured the crowning trophy of their storied history.
PSG makes their debut in the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday. Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola highlight an attack which blasted the competition in the French Ligue 1 with 92 goals and a goal differential of 57 in league competition. With tougher opponents in the Champions League, PSG didn’t come close to that same mark but did down some impressive opponents on their way to the trophy — they beat English Premier League sides Aston Villa and Arsenal through the quarterfinal and semifinal.
The opponent, Atletico Madrid, hail from Spain’s La Liga. While they don’t put together the same utter dominance in their home competitions as their French foe, Atletico sits third on the La Liga table with a goal differential of 38. Alexander Sorloth tallied 20 goals in league play, followed closely by Julian Alvarez with 17 netted shots. The team did compete in the Champions League themselves, finishing fifth in the table with six wins, two losses and a goal differential of eight.
Notably, these teams did clash almost exactly one year ago on June 11, 2024. In that contest, Atletico Madrid emerged with a 2-1 victory behind an early goal from Nahuel Molina and a go-ahead strike by Angel Correa in the 93rd minute.
For Saturday’s outing, DraftKings Sportsbook lists PSG as -105 favorites on the Moneyline. Atletico Madrid hold +275 odds to win outright, while the odds of a draw sit at +270.
At first glance, one may assume Paris Saint-Germain should hold far greater odds as a favorite. However, they’re likely without Dembele through the group stage after the star suffered a quad injury while playing for the French national team. He did travel with PSG for this fixture, but if the 28-year-old remains sidelined, his loss proves significant — Dembele netted 33 goals and 15 assists in 49 games across all competitions for PSG this season and is a legitimate candidate to win the Ballon d’Or.
Without Dembele, Paris Saint-Germain are officially on upset watch against a quality Spanish side. While the French squad are decidedly energized after their UCL win, Dembele’s absence narrows the gap between these two teams. With fantastic value at +275 odds, I’m picking Group B play in the FIFA Club World Cup to begin with a stunner as Atletico Madrid down PSG.
