The 2021 FIFA Club World Cup action continues on Wednesday as Monterrey square off against UAE-based Al Jazira in the fifth-place playoff at the Al Nahyan Stadium.
Monterrey suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Al Ahly in the first fixture of the second round on Saturday. Al Jazira kick-started the competition with a 4-1 win over Pirae in the first round but were hammered 6-1 by Al-Hilal in the second round fixture.
Al Jazira finished fourth in their previous appearance in the competition. Meanwhile, Monterrey have finished third twice and finished fifth twice in their four appearances in the competition.
Monterrey vs Al Jazira Head-to-Head
This will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides across all competitions.
Monterrey form guide (all competitions): L-D-W-D-D
Al Jazira form guide (all competitions): L-W-L-W-W
Monterrey vs Al Jazira Team News
Monterrey
Duván Vergara has not been included in the squad by Rayados with a knee injury. Javier Aguirre is expected to field a similar starting XI to the one that featured in the 1-0 loss to Al Ahly.
Injured: Duván Vergara
Suspended: None
Al Jazira
Khalfan Mubarak is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Germany following a hamstring injury and has not been included in the squad. 22 of the 23 players called up for the Club World Cup fixtures will be available for the game. M'Hammed Rabii will be suspended for the game after two yellow cards in two games in the competition so far.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: M'Hammed Rabii
Monterrey vs Al Jazira Predicted XI
Monterrey Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Esteban Andrada (GK); Edson Gutiérrez, Cesar Montes, Héctor Moreno, Érick Aguirre; Luis Romo, Matias Kranevitter; Alfonso González, William Mejia, Maximiliano Meza; Rogelio Funes Mori
Al Jazira Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Ali Khasif (GK); Zayed Sultan, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Miloš Kosanović, Abdulla Idrees; Thulani Serero, Mohammed Jamal; Abdoulay Diaby, João Victor, Zayed Al Ameri; Ahmed Al Attas
Monterrey vs Al Jazira Prediction
Monterrey and Al Jazira did not look solid in their second-round fixtures and will be looking to end their campaign on a good note. Monterrey have the advantage in terms of squad quality but Al Jazira will have the home support for this game and will fancy their chances.
Monterrey have finished at least fifth in each of their appearances in this competition and should come out on top.
Prediction: Monterrey 1-0 Al Jazira