Urawa Reds vs Man City tips and predictions: Pep Guardiola meets familiar foe in Club World Cup semi

Seb Sternik
19 December 2023

Man City are on a mission to complete their trophy collection as Pep Guardiola’s men take on Japan’s Urawa Reds in the semi-final of the Club World Cup.

The Premier League outfit have won every possible trophy under the guidance of their Spanish mastermind – bar one.

Claiming the Champions League last summer didn’t quite end the trophy hunt for the Cityzens who are now looking to become Club World Cup winners for the very first time.

Their semi-final match sees them come up against Urawa Reds, which is a far more interesting encounter than it may first appear on paper.

In fact, the two respective managers share history – unprecedented history.

Maciej Skorza, who is the man in charge of the Japanese outfit, was Guardiola’s opponent in the Spaniards first two matches in charge of Barcelona.

Their meeting took place in a Champions League qualifying fixture back in 2008 as the Catalonian giants took on then Polish champions, Wisla Krakow.

Guardiola’s first match in charge of Barca went smoothly as they picked up a 5-0 victory at the Camp Nou.

However, the reverse fixture was far from a success as Skorza and his Wisla side picked up a 1-0 win.

While the Polish outfit ended up going out on aggregate, the result is still regarded as one of the greatest recent accomplishments by a Polish club on the European stage.

What’s more, the result appeared to hand Barca a short hangover, with the Spanish outfit going on a three-match winless run.

Fifteen years later, Skorza and Guardiola will once again share the dugout, albeit with different clubs.

While the Spaniard went on to conquer Europe, Skorza has been busy doing the same in Asia.

This is the second-ever Club World Cup semi-final for Urawa who previously reached this stage back in 2007. On this occasion, it was a 1-0 win over Leon which sealed their place in the last-four.

For City, this will be their first match of the tournament, and some will argue the Japanese side should fancy their chances.

City did not have much time between their 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday and their flight to Saudi Arabia – the host nation for the tournament.

As well as being somewhat fatigued, the Cityzens are not exactly flying at this moment.

With just three wins from their last eight matches, Guardiola’s men are far from their firing on all cylinders.

Defence has been a real problem for the English side, with City conceding 16 goals across their last eight matches.

Urawa’s schedule has been far less hectic, and with Skorza set to leave at the end of this tournament, the Polish coach will be determined to make sure this isn’t his final match.

With that in mind, we’re backing the Asian side to pull off a major upset and bag a stunning win in Jeddah.