With there being a lot of unknowns regarding the 2025 Club World Cup, one of Ladbrokes' senior traders shares some valuable insights with our Group C preview.
Chris Wood, Senior Trader with Ladbrokes has provided bettors with an in-depth guide into Club World Cup Group C, allowing those who fancy a punt at this summer's tournament to make more informed picks.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group C Preview & Tips
Bayern Munich
Bayern breezed their domestic league and reached the quarter final of the Champions League but it still felt like a season of underachievement for the Bavarian giants and they will be hopeful of adding some more silverware here.
We are very wary of Harry Kane to be top scorer and have gone short in the market accordingly as Bayern face kiwi semi-pro team Auckland City in their first game which could be an outright annihilation.
Unless Kane suffers an injury in the round international fixtures before the competition begins, I would expect him to start the match and be absolutely merciless in his quest for goals. He will obviously be on penalties as well although Thomas Muller may be given a charity one if he is on the pitch as he completes his Bayern farewell tour.
Michael Olise completed 15 assists in the Bundesliga this season and should provide plenty of chances as well as taking his share of set pieces. Musiala has been injured and possibly won’t start the first game but should be involved as the competition continues. Gnabry and Olise will also be serious goal threats when they are on the field.
Benfica
Ran Sporting CP close in the Portuguese Primeira before slipping up late on but that was compounded when they lost to the same team in the final of the Cup and they come here looking to bounce back.
Highly rated full back Alvaro Carreras looks to be leaving for Real Madrid before the tournament starts but they will still have the talismanic Angel Di Maria who will look to supply the ammunition for Vangelis Pavlidis before he departs for Rosario Central. Veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi scored six goals this season from 4.5 exPG, all but one of which was scored with his head and he remains a potent threat from set pieces.
However, they could only muster one shot in total in their Champions League game at the Allianz Arena and look short enough in their first game versus Boca so we’ll probably look to take them on here at the current prices.
Boca Juniors
Boca looked a team in slight disarray as they were dumped out of the Copa Libertadores by Alianza Lima and lost against arch-rivals River Plate in the SuperClasico. Under fire club president and club legend Juan Roman Riquelme did the inevitable and fired coach Fernando Gago and replaced him with a fellow club legend in Miguel Angel Russo.
Russo won the Copa Libertadores in his first stint as Boca manager, the Superliga in his second spell and he and Riquelme will be hoping it is third time lucky here. They have an ageing squad full of South American stalwarts like Cavani, Marcus Rojo, Ander Herrera and Luis Advincula and have obvious limitations but a combination of a new manager bounce and experienced players looking for one last shot at glory could see them progress here and they look too big against Benfica at the current prices.
Look out for Miguel Merentiel to score the goals as they will look to him in the likely absence of Edinson Cavani in the first game.
Auckland City
The absolute minnows of the competition, Auckland will simply be looking to keep things respectable in all three of their matches. The semi-professional team from New Zealand qualified for the finals by winning the OFC Champions League as they have done for the past 4 seasons in a row but this will be a completely different ball game.
They have scored 5 goals in 17 matches at the FIFA Club World Cup since they first played in 2006 but have never faced anyone near the quality of Benfica let alone Bayern Munich. The current handicap line in their first match against Bayern is -4.5 but if anything that looks too low and I think Bayern could inflict some serious damage.
They played Al Ain of the UAE in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2024 and lost 6-2 after completely capitulating late on. The greater fitness of the bigger teams will tell in the humidity of Cincinnati and I would expect them to tire late on and they are massive odds on to finish bottom of the group.
Group Overview
Bayern should top the group comfortably but the gap between Boca and Benfica isn’t as big as the current match prices suggest and I’d be happy to side with Boca on that basis. Auckland will be thrilled to finish the group stage with their dignity intact and I’d be looking to side against them scoring any points or even goals here.
As noted, there are a lot of questions surrounding this summer's tournaments, some fans still wondering why Liverpool aren't in the tournament but Chelsea are, for example.
When and where is the 2025 Club World Cup taking place?
The 2025 Club World Cup will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13, marking the first time the expanded tournament will feature 32 clubs in a month-long format.
Which teams are playing in the 2025 Club World Cup?
Heavyweights like Real Madrid, Man City and Boca Juniors have been confirmed as some of the 32 teams in the Club World Cup.
How can you watch the Club World Cup?
Every single match at the Club World Cup will be broadcast on DAZN, with viewers able to watch games on their platform free-to-air for those in the UK.
Can you bet on the Club World Cup?
Ladbrokes is giving customers the opportunity to bet on the outright winner for the Club World Cup. More markets are also available, including group winners and top goalscorer.
