Record Club World Cup winners Real Madrid face Serie A giants Juventus in a blockbuster clash in the Round of 16 stage of the expanded tournament in Miami.
RM vs JUV Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025 / Wednesday, 2 July 2025
Time: 15:00 (EDT) / 00:30 (IST)
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
RM vs JUV Match Preview
In his third game in charge of his managerial career at Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso implemented the back-three system that brought honours at Bayer Leverkusen and it worked perfectly for the club, where he became a legend. Vinicius Junior ended an eight-game scoring drought by putting his team ahead late in the first half. Federico Valverde then doubled the lead just before half-time, further showcasing his impressive form after redeeming himself following a missed penalty in the previous 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in their opening match of the competition. The last throw of the dice was from the brilliant Gonzalo Garcia, for whom the team is not feeling the absence of Kylian Mbappe, to secure a thrilling 3-0 win over RB Salzburg. Los Blancos topped Group H with seven points, having also defeated Pachuca earlier, with this victory building early confidence that Alonso’s system will work well with the side. However, their real test will be against Juventus in the Round of 16, who will be the first major European opposition in this competition and a triumph here will give more support to the club’s choice of appointing the Spaniards, side by side, increasing their chances of winning the prize they last won in 2022. Alonso will be desperate for his side to shine here as they will make almost an early step to the semifinals, considering they face Monterrey or Dortmund in the quarters should they progress from here.
Juventus needed only a point in the final group game against Manchester City, after dismantling Al Ain 5-0 and Wydad Casablanca 4-1, to win their group and avoid Los Blancos in the next round, yet they failed miserably. Pep Guardiola’s side were simply too good for them as their defence crumbled in containing the opposition’s attack in the frustrating 5-2 defeat, with Teun Koopmeiners' equaliser and a late Dusan Vlahovic goal amounting to nothing. This was their first loss for the Old Lady of Turin in seven games and only their second under Igor Tudor, but the one which might prove costly for their survival in the Club World Cup 2025. The Bianconeri have gone past those terrifying days of facing Cristiano Ronaldo, who later played for the club, in a Real Madrid shirt, having gone through several nightmare moments, but the side from the Spanish capital has started to glow in a new era, which is bad news. Juventus are just a win behind in this fixture’s head-to-head record of 21 games and have won the last meeting with Los Blancos in 2018, although that eliminated them on aggregate from the Champions League quarterfinals. No such scenario will work here in this straight knockout affair, with a win taking them to the last-eight.
RM vs JUV Recent Form (all competitions)
RM: WWDWW
JUV: WWWWL
RM vs JUV Recent Form (CWC 2025)
RM: DWW
JUV: WWL
RM vs JUV Predicted Lineups
Xabi Alonso is likely to stick with the same eleven and the same three-man backline of Antonio Rudiger, Aurlien Tchouameni and Dean Huijsen that worked perfectly in the last game for Real Madrid. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia will fill the wing-back areas with the dynamic midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Arda Guler. Gonzalo Garcia should continue to partner Vinicius Junior up front, even though Kylian Mbappe is back from training after his illness that has kept him out of the action so far.
However, David Alaba has been ruled out of the tournament due to a meniscus injury amid concerns about his future at the club.
Meanwhile, Igor Tudor will bring back his preferred attacking trio of Chico Conceicao, Kolo Muani and their best player in the tournament so far, Kenan Yildiz, into the starting eleven after giving them a rest in the 5-2 thrashing by Manchester City in their final group game. Andrea Cambiaso will also replace Filip Kostic at the left wing-back role, while Khephren Thuram will return in midfield instead of Manuel Locatelli. There are no injury concerns for the squad.
Real Madrid
Courtois; Rudiger, Tchouameni, Huijsen; Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, Valverde, Guler, F Garcia; Vinicius, G Garcia
Juventus
Di Gregorio; Savona, Kelly, Kalulu; Costa, Thuram, McKennie, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Kolo Muani, Yildiz
RM vs JUV Dream11 Match Prediction
Real Madrid seems to be basking under their new tactician, with their win against Salzburg being the start of something special. Although Juventus won’t be unlike any challenge so far, Los Blancos have the attacking craft to expose the opposition’s defence, which will help them move further into the competition. We predict a 2-1 win for Alonso’s side.
RM vs JUV Dream11 Team Top picks
Captain Pick: Vinicius Junior
Vice-captain Picks: Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde
Others: Kenan Yildiz
Our top pick for the Dream11 Team is Vinicius Junior after opening his 2025 Club World Cup account in the last game with a goal and an assist.
The other top choices are Jude Bellingham, who has a goal and an assist in the three group games and Federico Valverde, who scored in the last two matches.
Castilla product Gonzalo Garcia has replaced Mbappe quite well with his two goals and an assist in the group stages.
The top player from Juventus would be their Turkish wonderkid, Kenan Yildiz, with three goals and an assist in a sensational individual tournament for him, where he is the joint top-scorer from open play.
RM vs JUV Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Di Gregorio (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 132)
DEF: Trent (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 110), Huijsen (Cr - 8, Pts - 102), Cambiaso (Cr - 8, Pts - 46)
MID: Guler (Cr - 8, Pts - 119), Valverde (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 159), Bellingham (Cr - 9, Pts - 150), Yildiz (Cr - 8, Pts - 251)
FW: G Garcia (Cr - 7, Pts - 177), Muani (Cr - 7.5, Pts -142), Vinicius (Cr - 9, Pts - 115)
Vice-captain: Jude Bellingham
Captain: Vinicius Junior
