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Club Leon and Urawa Red Diamonds will square off at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium in the quarterfinal of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup on Friday.
The Mexicans booked their spot in the tournament by virtue of their status as CONCACAF Champions League champions. Urawa Red Diamonds qualified by winning their third AFC Champions League title back in May.
The winner of this tie will face English and European champions Manchester City in the semifinal next week.
Leon are coming into the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Club America in the Mexican Liga MX. Julian Quinones broke the deadlock from the spot just past the hour-mark, while Henry Martin made sure of the result in the 89th minute.
Urawa Reds, meanwhile, fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Hanoi FC in the AFC Champions League. Dao Van Nam and Pham Tuan Hai scored either side of Bryan Linssen to help the Vietnamese outfit claim all three points.
Leon vs Urawa Red Diamonds Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the first meeting between the two sides.
- Both Leon (four losses) and Urawa Red Diamonds (six losses) have won just two of their last nine games across all competitions.
- Leon have not kept a clean sheet in their last nine games across competitions and have conceded at least two goals in each of their last four games.
- Six of Urawa Red Diamonds' last seven competitive games have witnessed goals at both ends and also produced three goals or more.
Leon vs Urawa Red Diamonds Prediction
Club Leon are making their debut in the FIFA Club World Cup but their form heading into the tournament has been poor. Defensive frailty has been an issue for them in recent weeks and this is something that manager Nicolas Larcamon will hope to rectify on the global stage.
Urawa Reds have not been consistent either but are more seasoned campaigners on this stage, with this being their third appearance in the competition. Their best performance remains their third-placed finish back in 2007 but chances of replicating this are slim.
We are backing Urawa Reds to claim a narrow win with goals to be scored at both ends.
Prediction: Leon 1-2 Urawa Red Diamonds
Leon vs Urawa Red Diamonds Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Urawa Red Diamonds to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
