Manchester City v Al Ain: Haaland to spark City win | OneFootball

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Manchester City have already made a winning start to their bid for the Club World Cup

After picking up a winner from the Club World Cup yesterday, Kevin Hatchard is looking for another success at the competition, as Manchester City play their second match.

Manchester City v Al AinMonday 23 June, 02:00Live on DAZN

Serhou Guirassy was worthy of a second chance this week, and he delivered yesterday, scoring in Borussia Dortmund's much-needed 4-3 win over Mamelodi Sundowns.

We'll stick with the Club World Cup, because Manchester City are in action in the early hours of Monday morning, and they face UAE side Al Ain.

City made a serene start to the tournament, as they overcame Wydad Casablanca 2-0. Phil Foden netted an early opener to boost his flagging confidence, and the eye-catching Jeremy Doku added a second. A late red card for Rico Lewis was the only blot on the copybook.

Pep Guardiola is likely to shuffle his pack here, and that should see the return of star striker Erling Haaland to City's starting XI. Haaland looked sharp in the international break, scoring in Norway's wins over Italy and Estonia. In the season just gone, he scored 42 goals for club and country.

If Haaland starts, he should make hay against an Al Ain side that fell significantly short in a 5-0 hammering against Juventus. Al Ain won the Asian Champions League last year, which is how they qualified for this tournament, but they have lost their way since.

Al Ain's trophy-winning coach Hernan Crespo departed, and in their domestic league Al Zaeem (The Boss) finished a disappointing fifth. Former Watford boss Vladimir Ivic is now in charge, and he watched his team flounder against the firepower of Juventus. Francisco Conceicao, Kenan Yildiz and Randal Kolo Muani ran riot, and the Serie A giants were 4-0 up by half time.

I'll back Manchester City -1 on the Handicap, Al Ain to pick up Over 1.5 Cards and Erling Haaland to score at 13/10 on the Sportsbook's Bet Builder. City have won 10 of their last 13 matches, with a loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final their only defeat. As for the card angle, City drew ten fouls against Wydad Casablanca, and while that was only enough for one yellow card, City have seen the opposition booked twice or more in 11 of their last 14 comeptitive matches.

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Back Man City to win, Over 1.5 Al Ain Cards and Haaland to score @ 13/10

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