Al-Ittihad and Auckland City will meet again in the FIFA Club World Cup 1st round at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Stadium, Buraidah Tuesday, December 12, 2023. Live streaming information, how to watch, match previews and lineup predictions can be found in this article.
Al Ittihad returns to the FIFA Club World Cup after 18 years and kicks off the tournament with a match against Auckland City FC of New Zealand in this first round. Al Ittihad enter this match in quite good form, even though they have just lost 1-3 to Damak.
In Al Ittihad’s last four home matches, all matches have seen more than 2.5 goals scored. This fact shows that Al Ittihad is an aggressive team and often scores goals when playing at home. Moreover, they have only failed to score in one match from their last ten home matches, showing their consistency in scoring goals.
Benzema, Al Ittihad’s key player, has a good track record in this tournament. He has scored four goals in FIFA Club World Cup history while playing for Real Madrid. The return of Benzema and Romarinho to training after injury provides a big boost for Al Ittihad ahead of this match.
However, Al Ittihad will be without the services of Luiz Felipe, who is out with a muscle injury. However, they still have plenty of options up front, with Benzema and Romarinho returning to training and possibly starting.
On the other hand, Auckland City comes into this match after suffering three consecutive defeats in their domestic matches. Their last defeat was 0-2 to Wellington Olympic. This is the first time they have failed to score in five consecutive matches, which could be a bad sign heading into this match.
However, Auckland City coach Albert Riera has all his best players available for this match. He will probably play a 4-5-1 formation, which could provide a balance between defense and attack.
Based on performance, player quality and statistics, Al Ittihad is very capable of advancing to the next round. Thanks to tactician Marcelo Gallardo, Al Ittihad have a strong home record, unbeaten in their last five matches, with four wins.
Al-Ittihad vs. Auckland City Match Info (Live/TV)
| Match | Al-Ittihad vs. Auckland City |
| Competition | 2023 FIFA Club World Cup |
| Match day | 1st round |
| Venue | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Stadium, Buraidah |
| Date | Tuesday, December 12, 2023 |
| Kickoff | 14:00 ET |
| Official TV | Soccer TV |
| Live On | Streaming Online |
LineUp Predictions
| Al-Ittihad (4-2-3-1) | Auckland City (4-5-1) |
| Grohe | Tracey |
| Alshanqiti | Vale |
| Hawsawi | Mitchell |
| Hegazy | Lee |
| Bamsaud | Lobo |
| Kante | Garriga |
| Fabinho | D. Heijer |
| Alamri | Howieson |
| Coronado | Ilich |
| Jota | Manickum |
| Benzema | Kilkolly |
5 H2H Latest Al-Ittihad – Auckland City
- December 13, 2023 – Al Ittihad [01 : 00] Auckland City (FIFA Club World Cup)
Al-Ittihad – Last 5 Match Results
- November 24, 2023 – Al Ittifaq [1 – 1] Al Ittihad (Saudi Pro League)
- November 27, 2023 – AGMK [1 – 2] Al Ittihad (AFC Champions League)
- December 01, 2023 – Al Ittihad [4 – 2] Al Khaleej (Saudi Pro League)
- December 05, 2023 – Al Ittihad [2 – 1] Sepahan (AFC Champions League)
- December 07, 2023 – Damak [3 – 1] Al Ittihad (Saudi Pro League)
Auckland City – Last 5 Match Results
- October 29, 2023 – Auckland City [3 – 2] Auckland United (National League)
- November 04, 2023 – Petone [0 – 2] Auckland City (National League)
- November 12, 2023 – Auckland City [1 – 3] Wellington Olympic (National League)
- November 19, 2023 – Auckland City [2 – 3] Christchurch United (National League)
- November 26, 2023 – Wellington Olympic [2 – 0] Auckland City (National League)
The Official TV Channel
SSC (Saudi Arabia); Sport TV1, Sport TV Multiscreen (Portugal); discovery+ App, TNT Sports 3, discovery+ (United Kingdom, Ireland); Arena Sport 5 Croatia (Croatia); FIFA+, YouTube, Shahid (International); VG+ (Norway); Sport 3 (Israel); ViuTV (Macau); matchtv.ru, Match! Football 2 (Russia); Arena Sport 7 Serbia (Serbia), more here.
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