Two new matches from the round of 16 of the Club World Cup are to be played this evening and early tomorrow morning. At 22:00 Real Madrid will face Juventus, and at 04:00 the match between Borussia Dortmund and Monterrey will take place.

Real started their participation in the group stage hesitantly after finishing 1:1 against Saudi Al Hilal in their first match. However, the team managed to react appropriately and record two consecutive victories - over Mexican Pachuca (3:1) and Austrian Red Bull Salzburg (3:0), thus guaranteeing a place in the round of 16. Led by new head coach Xabi Alonso, the club is entering a new era, marked by ambitions to return to the top in both La Liga and European club tournaments after the disappointing last season.

Defender Raul Asensio will miss a second consecutive match due to suspension. Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger is expected to be available after the cramps he suffered when he came on as a substitute against Salzburg were not serious. Kylian Mbappe will not be included in the squad yet due to a health problem, for which he was even hospitalized.

Juventus started their participation in the group stage convincingly after defeating Al Ain of the UAE with 5:0, and in the next match achieved another convincing success – 4:1 over Moroccan Wydad Casablanca. In their third match, the “Old lady” faced Manchester City in a direct battle for the first place in Group G, but the English team prevailed with a decisive 5:2, which sent the Italians to the second position. Igor Tudor hardly wanted to face Real Madrid at this stage of the tournament, but a possible victory would ensure Juventus a place in the quarterfinals, where their opponent will be a not so tough one: the winner of the Borussia Dortmund - Monterrey match.

Borussia justified its role as the favorite in the group. After a goalless draw against Fluminense, they achieved expected victories over Mamelodi and Ulsan. The team finished the season strongly in Germany and is now 10 consecutive matches in all competitions without a loss, including eight wins and two draws. In seven of their last ten matches, Borussia has scored more than two goals.

Monterrey has performed well so far in the tournament and has made it through the group stage without a loss. There they only conceded one goal in three matches and that was against the favorite Inter. The Mexicans even held on to a prestigious 1:1 draw. In their last match, they defeated the Japanese Urawa 4:0. | BGNES