Preview: River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds - prediction, team news, lineups

River Plate and Urawa Red Diamonds will open their respective Club World Cup campaigns with a clash on Tuesday night, with both sides looking to make the perfect start to Group E.

Inter Milan will be the favourites to top the section, leaving River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds and Monterrey to battle for the second qualification position.

Match preview

River are the most successful side in the history of Argentine football, winning the top league on 38 occasions, three more than Boca Juniors.

The Stripe were the best-ranked eligible team in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking, which allowed them to qualify for the lucrative tournament, and they will be expecting to seriously challenge for a spot in the next round, potentially battling for the spot behind Inter Milan.

Marcelo Gallardo's side will take on Monterrey in their second match in the competition on June 22, so the fixtures have fallen how they would have wanted in terms of avoiding Inter until matchday three.

River will have the incredibly-talented Franco Mastantuono available for the summer tournament, but it has been announced that the teenager will be making the move to Real Madrid when he turns 18 in July.

Urawa Red Diamonds, meanwhile, were winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League, which saw them qualify for the competition.

The Red Devils are one of the most successful teams in Japanese football, winning three AFC Champions League titles, while they have also claimed a joint-record eight Emperor's Cups.

This is the third time that the club have competed in the Club World Cup, and their campaign in the J1 League has been paused to allow them to play in the competition.

Maciej Skorza's side were last in action on June 1, recording a 2-1 victory over Yokohama, and they are currently in fourth spot in the J1 League table, picking up 34 points from their 21 matches.

Urawa Red Diamonds will tackle Inter in their second match in the tournament on June 21, and a positive result here would leave them full of confidence ahead of that contest.

River Plate form (all competitions):

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Urawa Red Diamonds form (all competitions): 

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Team News

River will have Mastantuono in their side, and the talented teenager will be desperate to sign off in the best possible fashion before making the move to Real Madrid in August.

There are not expected to be any surprises in the home side's XI; Facundo Colidio has scored six times in his last 22 appearances, and the 25-year-old should feature in the final third.

Meanwhile, there are also set to be spots in the side for Sebastian Driussi and Lucas Martinez.

As for Urawa Red Diamonds, Ryoma Watanabe has been their main source of goals this season, scoring six times in 17 appearances, and he will feature in the final third of the field.

Yasuke Matsuo has three goals in 20 appearances, meanwhile, and he is set to be another starter.

Matheus Savio is also in line for a spot in the final third of the field.

River Plate possible starting lineup:

Armani; Montiel, Martinez, Diaz, Acuna; Castano, Perez, Meza; Mastantuono, Driussi, Colidio

Urawa Red Diamonds possible starting lineup:

Nishikawa; Ishihara, Ogiwara, Gustafson, Boza; Holbraten, Kaneko; Yasui, Matsuo, Savio; Watanabe

We say: River Plate 2-1 Urawa Red Diamonds

Urawa Red Diamonds are a talented outfit and certainly have the credentials to cause River Plate problems on Tuesday night, but we are expecting the Argentine side to navigate their way to all three points. 

Written by
Matt Law

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