Real Madrid are looking for another piece of silverware as they face Mexican side Pachuca in the 2024 Intercontinental Cup final on Wednesday evening.
The six confederate champions have once again collided at the end of the year in a bid to claim global supremacy. Madrid are playing their first game of the tournament on Wednesday having lifted the 2024 Champions League trophy in June.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were crowned world champions for the eighth time last year and are heavy favourites to secure a ninth title in Qatar.
Pachuca have upset the odds to advance into Wednesday’s showpiece event. They earned their sixth CONCACAF Champions Cup title earlier this year to qualify for the Intercontinental Cup. So far, they have stunned Copa Libertadores champions Botafogo and African giants Al Ahly to set up this historic meeting with Madrid.
Real Madrid and Pachuca meet in Lusail to decide the winner of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Kylian Mbappe completed Tuesday’s training session with the squad and appears set to feature in the starting lineup.
Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois, Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Fran Garcia, Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Mbappe.
Pachuca predicted XI: Moreno, Rodriguez, Barrelto, Micolta, Bryan, Pedraza, Montiel, Bautista, Gonzalez, Idrissi, Rondon.
Ancelotti will probably deploy his best available lineup even though he could probably make some rotations and still conquer the trophy. This will be a good opportunity for Madrid to regain some confidence and momentum after the draw against Rayo.
A familiar face to Premier League audiences features for Pachuca on Tuesday evening with Salomon Rondon poised to lead the Mexican side’s line. Since joining the club in January, the former West Brom, Newcastle and Everton striker has scored 26 times to thrust Pachuca into their current position. He was the top scorer in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The Mexicans have few injury concerns heading into the final and we should see similar XIs from the wins over Botafogo and Al Ahly, although Israel Luna is a doubt due to a knee issue.
