Seattle Sounders vs AL Ahly SC (EGY) Prediction & Betting Tips - FIFA Club World Cup

Prediction published on 02/02/2023, 17:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 02/02/2023 at 18:01 in Football Predictions

Seattle Sounders are the first American side to compete in the FIFA World Club Championship. They take on Al-Ahly in this second round match with the winners up against the heavily odds-on favourites Real Madrid in the last four. Seattle qualified for these finals by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. They didn't fare so well in the MLS though, finishing only 11th in the Western Conference and failing to make it into the end-of-season play-offs. Their last 11 games produced just a couple of wins and eight of their last nine MLS matches on the road ended in defeat. Their league season ended in October and since then they've only played two friendlies, drawing with Wolfsberger AC and losing 3-2 to Hammarby. It might have been good for them to be in the first round of this competition rather than receive a bye. That would have given them some competitive experience and got them used to playing in Morocco.

That's been the case for Al-Ahly who are top of the Egyptian Premier League with a six-point lead and have a game in hand. They've played 15 league games of their season, the most recent on January 24 when beating National Bank of Egypt 1-0. Before this World Club Cup began, they'd been unbeaten in 22 league and cup games. They qualified for this competition by being the runners-up in the 2021/22 CAF League.  This is their eighth appearance in the World Club Cup and they finished fourth in the last tournament held in 2021. The first round of this year's event saw them defeat Auckland 3-0.  Back them to get a win here.