Urawa Red Diamonds v Monterrey
Urawa Red Diamonds

Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey

, KO: 02:00 , Rose Bowl
Monterrey

Monterrrey remain unbeaten at the Club World Cup and if they can defeat Urawa Red Diamonds in their final Group E match, it should be enough to seal a place in the knockout stages.

The Mexicans weren't fancied to progress from a section that also included Inter Milan and River Plate but they've performed above expectations so far.

Monterrey took the lead against the Italian giants in their opener and although they conceded a leveller, the point they picked up represented an excellent start.

Domenec Torrent's side then shut out River Plate in a dreary 0-0 draw, busting the coupon of our man Greg after he went for goals, and that has set them up nicely for the final group game.

Urawa Red Diamonds have nothing to play for after a heartbreaking stoppage-time winner for Inter made it back-to-back defeats for the Japanese side.

I fancied the Serie A side to win that game to nil but they conceded early on and only scrambled a 2-1 win thanks to two goals in the last 12 minutes.

Urawa Reds now only have pride to play for and Monterrey will be hoping to rack up a convincing win to book their place in the last 16.

How the bookies view it: Mexicans to march on

With Urawa Red Diamonds already eliminated, it's no surprise to see them as BoyleSports' 7/2 outsiders. Monterrey are 8/13 favourites and the draw pays 14/5.

Head to head: First footing

These sides have never faced off before, which is a little surprising given they've both been Club World Cup regulars. Urawa Red Diamonds are taking part for the fourth time while Monterrey have graced the tournament five times before.

Players to watch: Ocampos still a class act

Lucas Ocampos arguably has the best pedigree in the Monterrey squad, with the Argentinian winger playing in Europe for the likes of Sevilla, Monaco and Marseille. Still only 30, he's far from past his best and looks a bit overpriced at 3/1 with Unibet for anytime scorer.

Yusuke Matsuo has led the line pretty well for Urawa Reds in this tournament and will be their biggest goal threat again if boss Maciej Skorza opts against giving his back-up forwards a run-out. Matsuo scored a penalty against River Plate and Unibet price him at 19/5 for another goal.

Probable line-ups

With nothing to play for, I'd imagine Urawa Red Diamonds will make a few changes to give some players a run-out at the tournament. Monterrey should field their strongest available side, with only Carlos Salcedo out injured, but midfielder Jorge Rodriguez is suspended after picking up two yellows.

Urawa Red Diamonds: Nishikawa, Ogiwara, Danilo Boza, Inoue, Matsumoto, Sekine, Kaneko, Nakajima, Watanabe, Matsuo.

Monterrey: Andrada, Aguirre, Medina, Ramos, Arteaga, Guzman, Deossa, Canales, Corona, Berterame, Ocampos.

Anything else catch the eye?

If Monterrey win this game and the other match in the group ends level, who goes through will be decided on goals scored in the head-to-heads then group goal difference. The Mexicans may have to win by three goals to go through so I'd expect them to be on the front foot for most of this match.

Backing over 2.5 Monterrey goals pays 9/4 at BoyleSports while a win for the Mexicans combined with over 1.5 match strikes is also decent at 21/20.

Most of the pressure should be in the Japanese half so it could pay to go for Monterrey corners too. Backing the Mexicans at -2 in the corner handicap looks good at 21/20 with Unibet.

Old soldier Sergio Ramos is at the heart of the Monterrey defence and remains a master of the dark arts. He's a tempting 11/10 at Bet365 to commit over 1.5 fouls here.

Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey Betting Tips & Predictions
Monterrey win and over 1.5 goals
21/20
Boylesports
Monterrey -2 corner handicap
21/20
UniBet
Sergio Ramos over 1.5 fouls
11/10
Bet365
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