Juventus and Manchester City are both through to the Round of 16 at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but the two European powers will meet Thursday afternoon to decide which team goes into the knockout stage as the winner of Group G. 

In all likelihood, the team that finishes second in Group G will play Real Madrid in the next round, while the team that tops the group will play either Red Bull Salzburg or Al-Hilal.

Avoiding Real Madrid should be incentive enough for both City and Juve to play their best starting XI on Thursday in Orlando.

It’s tough to say we’ve learned anything new about Manchester City or Juventus in this tournament.

Group G was straightforward, with Wydad AC from Morocco and Al-Ain from the UAE serving as nothing more than cannon fodder for the favorites.

City defeated Wydad, 2-0, before dispatching Al-Ain, 6-0.

Juventus beat Al-Ain, 5-0, and Wydad, 4-1. 

Stylistically, this is a battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Juventus was one of the best defensive sides in all of Europe in 2024-25, while City put up terrific offensive numbers.

The Cityzens did struggle defensively, which is uncharacteristic for a Pep Guardiola side.

It does seem like Guardiola’s goal this summer is to clean things up in their own half, so don’t be surprised if we see a more measured approach from the Sky Blues than usual.

That will be perfectly fine with Juventus, a team that prefers to play low-event soccer.

The Play: Under 2.5 goals (-108, FanDuel)

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.