Thursday, June 26

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Sports Mole previews Thursday's Club World Cup clash between Urawa Red Diamonds and Monterrey, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Monterrey, still battling for a top two finish in group E of the Club World Cup, will take on already eliminated Urawa Red Diamonds on Thursday morning. 

Urawa are bottom of the table and have failed to take a point from their two games, while Monterrey require a victory to secure a top two finish on the final day.

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Match preview

Urawa Red Diamonds came into the Club World Cup enduring an inconsistent run of results, with only two wins, three draws and two defeats in seven J1 League matches. 

Drawn in a challenging group alongside Inter Milan, River Plate and Monterrey, Urawa Red Diamonds were widely expected to finish at the bottom of the standings, and that outcome is looking likely going into the final matchday. 

The Red Devils started their group E campaign with a 3-1 defeat to River Plate, followed by a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Inter Milan, when Urawa initially took the lead before conceding a 78th-minute equaliser and a devastating 92nd-minute winner from Valentin Carboni. 

Those results leave Urawa bottom of the group E table with zero points, meaning the Red Devils have already had their elimination confirmed as they trail the top two by four points. 

Despite that, Maciej Skorza will still be hoping his team can secure a victory on the final day as he looks to leave the tournament with their heads held high, while every Club World Cup victory is worth a staggering £1.5m.

As for Monterrey, Domenec Torrent's side are aiming for all three points as they look to push into the top two and secure their progression to the knockout rounds. 

The Mexican side were widely perceived as third favourites to progress from group E, with River Plate and Inter Milan the supposed favourites, but two draws in their group games thus far gives them a strong chance of qualifying. 

Monterrey trail the top two by two points heading into the final game, but with River Plate and Inter Milan facing off against each other, a victory for Monterrey would almost certainly secure their progression.  

A victory for either River Plate or Inter Milan would mean a Monterrey win would put them in the top two on points, while a draw between the current top two would still be enough for the Mexican side to progress as long as they score more than either of the top two.

Urawa Red Diamonds Club World Cup form:

Monterrey Club World Cup form:

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Team News

While Urawa suffered a heartbreaking late defeat to Inter Milan in their last game, a strong defensive showing for much of the 90 minutes may mean Skorza decides to name a similar defensive lineup. 

In attack, Ryoma Watanabe and Takuro Kaneko both impressed from wide positions, including combining for their goal, and the duo should start on Thursday. 

For Monterrey, Jorge Rodriguez will be absent from the final group E match after the midfielder picked up yellow cards in the first two fixtures, meaning Nelson Deossa could be partnered by Oliver Torres. 

Sergio Ramos has starred in defence for Monterrey, including scoring their only goal of the group thus far, and the central defender will captain the team once again here. 

Urawa Red Diamonds possible starting lineup:

Nishikawa; Ishihara, Boza, Hoibraten, Naganuma; Yasui, Gustafson; Kaneko, Matsumoto, Watanabe; Matsuo

Monterrey possible starting lineup:

Andrada; Aguirre, Medina, Ramos, Arteaga; Deossa, Torres; Corona, Canales, Ocampos; Berterame

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We say: Urawa Red Diamonds 1-2 Monterrey

 

Urawa may have lost both of their games, but they have shown attacking quality at times, with goals in each of their matches against River Plate and Inter Milan, and we expect more of the same attacking threat in this one. 

However, Monterrey have challenged both River and Inter in their first two games, securing draws in both, and with a victory needed to ensure qualification, the Mexican side have extra motivation to secure all three points, leading us to expect a win for Torrent's men.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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