Kylian Mbappe is back to match fit and Endrick is back in training for Real Madrid, providing a double fitness boost. However, don’t expect either one to start against Juventus on Tuesday night. Mbappe will likely off the bench while Endrick won’t be available- he’s being eased along slowly. All in all, this should be as box office as it gets, at least by Club World Cup standards. Regardless of how you feel about the Club World Cup and its new expanded format (retired Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called it “pointless” and “the worst”) Real Madrid vs Juventus is still Real Madrid vs Juventus.
Real Madrid vs Juventus FYIs
Kickoff: Tue July 1, 3pm EST, Hard Rock Stadium, Orlando, FL
Format: Club World Cup Round of 16
Real Madrid Preview Material: Team News Starting Lineup Prediction
Watch: DAZN is streaming all of the matches for free
Getting back to those Klopp comments, here is what he said to Die Welt:
“It’s a pointless competition. Whoever wins it will be the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league. There are people who have never been involved in the day-to-day business of football and are now coming up with ideas.
“It’s too many games. I fear that next season we will see injuries like never before. If not then, they’ll come during or after the Club World Cup.”
Klopp does make a lot of good points, but we’ll save that discussion and debate for another time and space.
Real Madrid Starting XI Prediction vs RB Salzburg
Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger, Dean Huijsen; Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr., Gonzalo Garcia
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter