Manchester City vs Al Ain (FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City are back in action in the United States in the early hours of Monday morning – for those in the United Kingdom – to continue their journey in the FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage.

Last time out, City secured a huge first three points in the group stage against a resilient Wydad AC at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with goals from Phil Foden and Jérémy Doku.

One negative from the outing, however, was Rico Lewis’ controversial dismissal late on as referee Ramon Abatti brandished a straight red card after the Englishman unintentionally caught the head of a Wydad forward on the follow-through after winning the ball cleanly.

Now, all focus turns to the early hours of Monday morning for those in the UK as the Blues travel to Atlanta, Georgia to face UAE-based side Al Ain to fight to for a place at the top of Group G.

Al Ain, founded in 1968, are based in the United Arab Emirates and are the country’s most successful football club, playing in the UAE Pro League and having won the league title a record 14 times, the first of which dates back to 1977 and most recently in 2021/2022.

Al Ain finished 5th in the division during the most-recent campaign with 44 points, and have previously won a plethora of other silverware, including two League Cups, seven Presidents Cups and two AFC Champions League titles.

With regards to those to watch out for, one name that stands out is Togolese striker Kodjo Laba, who racked up an impressive 25 goal contributions across all competitions during the last season.

Moroccan front-man Soufiane Rahimi almost mirrored these statistics, managing 24 goals and assists across all competitions last time out, and so they are clearly two players that could prove to be a handful for the Manchester City back-line.

In terms of group standings, City are second in Group G on goal difference after Juventus’ impressive 5-0 win over the Blues’ next opponent, Al Ain, so a win is vital in order to keep the pressure on the Italian giants, who face Wydad AC at 17:00 BST on Sunday.

Al Ain currently sit at the bottom of the group on zero points after their defeat to the Serie A side, while Wydad AC are third with a three-goal superior goal difference.

Ahead of matchday two for Pep Guardiola and his players at the FIFA Club World Cup, here is everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City’s latest outing as part of their quest to defend their FIFA Club World Cup title!

You can watch every single match at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States LIVE and FOR FREE  this summer!

Match Details

Manchester City are due to take on UAE-based side Al Ain at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, with kick-off scheduled for 21:00 local time and 02:00 BST.

Match Officials

FIFA have confirmed that Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal will be the man in the middle for Manchester City’s face-off against Al Ain.

Check out the full list of match officials below!

Team News

Everyone in Manchester City’s squad remains injury-free apart from John Stones, who is not yet fit to start according to manager Pep Guardiola. The Blues only have one other absentee in Rico Lewis following his red card on matchday one, which renders him suspended.

Pep Guardiola has also confirmed that Spaniard Rodri will not start this one, stating that it will be an almost entirely different line-up to the one fielded on matchday one.

Al Ain emerged from their first group game unscathed and have a fully-fit squad for their clash with Manchester City.

Press Conference Notes

Pep Guardiola: “We have a lot of respect for Al Ain, for the connection to our owners being from Abu Dhabi, and of course we have a huge opportunity to go to the next round and we’ll see… Many things can happen, and we’re going to take it seriously.”

How To Watch

For those in the United Kingdom, the game will be available to stream for free on both Channel 5 and DAZN, with action getting underway from 02:00 BST.

For United States-based viewers, you can stream the game live for free on DAZN from 21:00 EDT.

You can find the full global TV listings here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout match-day two of the Club World Cup, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!

You can watch every single match at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States LIVE and FOR FREE  this summer!