Trader's Insight: FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group H Preview & Tips

It’s been a very disappointing season for Real Madrid after they failed to win both the Champions League and La Liga. They have a new man at the helm in Xabi Alonso and a new right back in Trent Alexander-Arnold and will be looking to win a consolation prize here. 

Alexander-Arnold’s arrival will be a huge upgrade and could almost feel like two new players as Federico Valverde will now be freed up to move into midfield rather than covering at right back. Dean Huijsen should be a good addition at centre back and Alonso will surely look to pair him with Raul Asencio in central defence.

Bellingham could partner Tchouameni in the middle and Alonso has indicated he wants to play a traditional two up front which would indicate Vinicius Jnr and Mbappe. Only the wide midfielders are undecided as things stand but I’d expect Valverde to potentially start on the right. Madrid are favourites for the whole tournament which seems counterintuitive given the poor season they have just had but they have a reasonably easy group and a straightforward path to the later stages.

If Xabi Alonso can get his ideas across quickly and the players take to him and the new system, then they really should be looking at a decent run here. Mbappe is the obvious goal threat but I would be more interested in Vinicius Jnr at bigger prices given he should be playing much further forward and will have the added benefit of Alexander-Arnold launching passes for him and Valverde playing further up the pitch.

It’s been another tough season for Salzburg after they were beaten to the title by Sturm Graz for the second time in two seasons. To add insult to injury, they could only win one of their games in the league phase of the Champions League and were knocked out without even the consolation of the Europa League to fall into.

The halcyon days of winning ten titles in a row and churning out a seemingly endless amount of talented, young players including Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland and Naby Keita look to be long gone and this is a very different iteration. The squad is still very much geared towards youth and buying youngsters in cheaply to then sell on to more major European clubs for a decent profit and Salzburg will be relishing the opportunity to put a few prospects in the shop window.

Unfortunately, one of their hottest prospects, Karim Konate, will be missing from the squad due to injury so the main goal threats will be provided by Oscar Gloukh and Dorgeles Nene potentially playing either side of big Serbian striker, Petar Ratkov. 21 year old Gloukh in particular has had a decent season and will be hoping to catch some eyes and earn himself a move here. Other players to potentially look out for here include right back Samson Baidoo and winger Edmund Baidoo (not related) who are both highly rated young players. I think Al Hilal are clear favourites against RB Salzburg here and they could even be given a few problems by Pachuca.

Al Hilal have an absolutely star-studded first 11 and a star manager to go alongside them after making Simone Inzaghi an offer he simply couldn’t refuse after his Inter side lost the Champions League final. They come here off the back of a second place finish in the Saudi Pro League (behind Al-Ittihad but in front of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr). They topped their group in the AFC Champions League before getting knocked out in the semi-final to fellow Saudi side Al-Ahli.

This is a high quality team full of household names and they should have enough to qualify from the group and potentially even give Real Madrid something to worry about. Leading the line will be Aleksandar Mitrovic who scored 19 goals in 21 starts and he will be partnered by Brazilian Marcos Leonardo who scored 17 in the same number of starts. All time Al-Hilal legend Salem Al-Dawsari is still a potent threat from the left wing and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be a huge threat from set pieces as usual.

Malcom will look to provide service from the wings and Kalidou Koulibaly and Joao Cancelo are big players for them in defence. Ex-Wolves star Ruben Neves will be busy in midfield and it is obvious that Al Hilal could be a real threat here if they are still hungry enough and fit enough.

Pachuca are the third side in this group to install a new manager in time for the Club World Cup with former Mexico national team coach Jaime Lozano taking charge. This has happened due to the resignation of long-serving manager Guillermo Almada who is rumoured to be taking over at giants Cruz Azul. Almada has without doubt overachieved during his time at one of the typically smaller Mexican teams and has developed a young squad who play an attractive brand of football and it is a shame he won’t be taking them to the Club World Cup.

I suspect he could felt he had taken them as far as possible and it is difficult to see them getting out of the group here, albeit there are some talented players to be aware of. Elias Montiel is an exceptionally highly rated defensive midfielder and will be one to watch against Real Madrid here. If he impresses it cannot be long until he scores himself a big move and is only 19 years of age. At the other end of his career, Salomon Rondon will lead the line. The big Venezuelan is still as prolific as ever at the age of 35 and will be a real handful for defences.

On-loan from Fluminense and cleared to play for Pachuca here, John Kennedy will be paired with him up front and should add some further threat after 9 goals in 20 games in the league. Former Chelsea and Newcastle man Kenedy will look to add some pace to the attack although will probably only be an option off the bench after joining on loan last month from relegated Real Valladolid. I can’t see Pachuca having quite enough to qualify from the group but their style should lead to some interesting matches.

Real Madrid are clearly favourites here and should win the group at a canter. For me, their main rivals will be Al-Hilal and I expect them to qualify at the expense of Salzburg. Pachuca will be happy to take anything points they can get but I suspect they will have real hopes against a beleaguered Salzburg.

• Wednesday, June 18 - Real Madrid vs Al Hilal (20:00 BST)

• Wednesday, June 18 - Pachuca vs RB Salzburg (23:00 BST)

• Sunday, June 22 - Real Madrid vs Pachuca (20:00 BST)

• Sunday, June 22 - RB Salzburg vs Al Hilal (23:00 BST)

• Friday, June 27 - Al Hilal vs Pachuca (02:00 BST) (Group H)

• Friday June 27 - RB Salzburg vs Real Madrid (02:00 BST

Ladbrokes has an article looking at the group stage games to watch at the Club World Cup. As well as that, we've also posted an extensive Club World Cup schedule guide, for fans who don't miss out on a single minute of action in America.

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.

So, Ladbrokes has an 'Answering all your questions on the Club World Cup 2025' piece for fans who still don't feel they know all they need to about the revamped FIFA competition.

So, now you have all the information to ensure you don't miss a single match at this year's Club World Cup - and with our detailed tournament preview and betting guide, you won't miss a tip either.

View the latest Club World Cup odds.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.