Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund | FIFA Club World Cup | OneFootball

Real Madrid will take to the field at the MetLife Stadium later today in the quarterfinal of the FIFA Club World Cup and the stakes will be sky high.

The men in white have looked good under Xabi Alonso, resilient in defence, creative through the middle of the park and efficient in attack. Their lacuna, however, has largely been their conversion rate in front of the goal which could have been significantly better.

Going up against the German giants, Real Madrid will look to play their best football and move a step closer to being the first FIFA Club World Cup champions in history, especially after the format change.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund.

Alonso’s nemesis

Borussia Dortmund are no strangers to Xabi Alonso for the Real Madrid manager faced them many a time in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen before he left for the Spanish capital.

His record against the Signal Iduna Park-based side, however, is anything but impressive and it is safe to say it is one of his worst records against any team as a manager.

Alonso oversaw seven games for Leverkusen against Dortmund but only won on one occasion. Two of the remaining games ended in draws while the final two ended in defeats. His only win over Dortmund came last season but he notably lost to them in the same campaign.

Previous records are seldom much to go by, and further irrelevant when a manager has changed his club for a superior squad quality.

However, it is highly possible that Alonso himself has it as a mental hurdle to get past, especially given that he is relatively early into his senior coaching career.

The last time Real Madrid and Dortmund faced off, Los Blancos quickly went 2-0 down but fought back in the second half to score five goals and win the game. It was, in fact, one of the team’s best performances under Carlo Ancelotti last term.

Alonso will hope for the team to pull off a similar result tonight to help him change his record against the German side. He may not be affected by the record itself, but breaking that curse will undoubtedly come as a great liberation and testament to his work at Real Madrid.

The unexpected ‘9’ dilemma

Mbappe is back. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Kylian Mbappe is well and truly back from his gastroenteritis, and while the infection did significantly affect his health and fitness, he is back in complete training and even made his debut under Xabi Alonso against Juventus.

Despite Mbappe coming on the field for close to half an hour, however, it was Gonzalo Garcia who stole the show for Real Madrid once more as the breakout academy star continued his impressive run of form at the FIFA Club World Cup.

It was the young striker, after all, who scored Real Madrid’s winning goal on the night to send the team through to the quarterfinal. The goal, in fact, took his numbers to a staggering three goals and one assist in just four games in the competition.

Ahead of the clash against Dortmund, Alonso has a decision to make over who starts in attack and he will have to choose between Garcia and Mbappe.

The Frenchman will quite clearly be the preferred choice given that he is a global icon and one of the best players in the world. Garcia, however, boasts of better match fitness, consistency and form at the moment and dropping him would appear highly unfair.

A third option for the manager would be to start both players and bench Vinicius, but the central presence of both players will be a hindrance.

Moreover, dropping the Brazilian just when he is recovering his form will only be a blow to his improvement and rejuvenation. Alonso, thus, has a massive decision to make.

Aiming for a bigger battle ahead

As is the case in any knockout competition, Real Madrid’s opponents are only getting more difficult with each passing round.

Having faced Juventus in the Round of 16, after a relatively easy group stage run, the men in white are now set to face a bigger opponent in Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinal.

Should they progress, the challenges only get more difficult with either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich awaiting in the semifinal.

Facing the Bavarians or the defending European champions, needless to say, will be a far bigger test for Real Madrid than anything they have faced so far in the competition and the margin for error will be as close to zero as humanly possible.

Tonight’s game, thus, is massive for the men in white as it gives them a chance to prepare for the bigger challenges that lie ahead.

A thumping win over Dortmund will not only give them a place in the final four but also the confidence they need ahead of a crucial potential semifinal fixture.