Al Ain vs Juventus: Betting Tips, Line Ups, and Predictions

The Club World Cup has begun. In the opening game, Al Ain will play Juventus Turin. Placed in the group G, both are paired with Manchester City and Casablanca who will also play each other on Wednesday, June 18th 2025. This will be the first time both teams play against each other.

Al Ain will appear for the second time in this competition after debuting in the year 2018, when they finished as runner-up as a debutant. This will be their first game since May. Al-Zaeem managed to qualify for their second Club World Cup tournament after they managed to win the Asian Champions League in 2024.

Al-Ain have scor have scored 9 goals in the Club World Cup. They managed to end the domestic season with four wins while keeping six clean sheets. The Saudis have scored two goals in their last eight matchups.

On the other hand, Juventus will make their debut in this competition. Alongside Inter Milan, they are the only team representing the Italian Serie A. The Bianconneri enters this game with a clean campaign in the Serie A after they deafeated Venezia 3-2 in May. The Italians have allowed one goal in five of their last eight matches and recorded two shutouts in that span.

Arkadiusz Milik and Gleison Bremer have returned to the squad following their recovery from recent injuries. Teun Koopmeiners is also included, though he is expected to sit out this game due to an ongoing Achilles tendon issue.

Despite of the return of the two, Juventus is not deemed fit enough to begin with. Captain and central midfielder Manuel Locatelli, who scored the decisive penalty that clinched Juventus' Champions League spot last month, is expected to recover from the ankle injury that forced him to withdraw from international duty with Italy. Meanwhile, both Daniele Rugani and Filip Kostic have rejoined the squad following their respective season-long loan spells.

Although there are still several starting spots up for competition, Kenan Yildiz is likely to play a key role in Igor Tudor’s preferred 3-4-2-1 setup. Last season, Juventus earned one more point per game on average when Yildiz was included in the starting XI.

The Turkish talent also contributed to 15 goals, making him the third-youngest player to reach that tally across Europe’s top five leagues—behind only Lamine Yamal and Desire Doue.

Up front, Yildiz is set to compete with Randal Kolo Muani for a starting role, while Dusan Vlahovic, Juve’s top scorer in Serie A last season, managed a modest 10 goals. In comparison, Al-Ain’s Togolese striker Kodjo Laba scored 20 times in the UAE Pro League, including eight headed goals.

Soufiane Rahimi, another attacking option for Al-Ain, was named MVP of the 2024 AFC Champions League and also won the Golden Boot at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In midfield, Alejandro "Kaku" Romero acts as the creative force, supplying service to the prolific front line.

Between the posts, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio is expected to start following his move to Abu Dhabi, after spending four seasons in Serie A. He’ll be backed by a three-man defensive line.

Thus it is expected both teams will be starting a different lineup. This is the predicted starting lineup.

Al-Ain:Patricio; Autonne, Park, Cardoso; Traore, Nader, Palacios, Erik; Kaku; Laba, Rahimi

Juventus:Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly; Gonzalez, Thuram, Locatelli, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Yildiz; Kolo Muani

With this line up, the game is expected to be one sided. Juventus is favoured to win. It is predicted that the Bianconneri will easily bag a 3-0 win over Al Ain.***