On Tuesday, 1 July, Real Madrid will play against Juventus. Madrid are the clear favourites in the line up, although there are questions about that status. Real are top of their group. The Turin side lost the lead to Manchester City.

Real with Xabi Alonso is gradually changing. The coach is already trying options with three centre-backs. At the same time, there is a certain optimism in attack. Real scored three goals each against Pachuca and Salzburg. It is important to take into account that Kylian Mbappe has not yet played at the Club World Cup. Real are urgently using striker Gonzalo Garcia. The forward looks decent in matches against average teams but certainly the potential in attack is lower.

Real allow Mbappe's exit in the 1/8 finals. The footballer has recovered from stomach problems.

Otherwise, Xabi Alonso now has no global problems with the composition. The coach uses a wide rotation. For example, gives a lot of game time to Arda Guler. Madrid had enough problems in defence. Al-Hilal regularly created threats and rightly scored.

On Juventus there is no understanding at all yet. The team in the first two matches easily beat Arabian Al Ain and Moroccan Vidad. Here, the class of the players with any coach would simply be enough. And in the meeting with Manchester City, Juventus fell to a rout with a score of 2:5. That said, the players may have lacked motivation.

It is important that Juventus under coach Igor Tudor also uses a scheme with three centre-backs. That is, in the 1/8 finals there will be a confrontation of two similar systems.

Tudor is a supporter of defensive football. The specialist has not yet decided on the main squad and also uses a wide rotation.

Bookmakers have raised the odds on Juve's victory over Real to almost 5.00. Still, there is hardly such a gulf between the two teams now. In such matches it is the more disciplined club that wins. Real have a lot of weaknesses. For example, Trent Alexander-Arnold is only adapting, the team is rebuilding under a new scheme, there are questions about Mbappe. Still, Garcia may fail in the first really important match.

Analysts expect the game to be close - we can agree here. Juventus have already been hit by a strong Manchester City attack. Igor Tudor is sure to make some smart tactical adjustments. Juventus, meanwhile, are capable of causing problems on the counterattack. Real have yet to set up pressing and control with Xabi Alonso. We see a pragmatic game with few goals. At the same time, it is too early to write Juventus off - the real possibilities of the team are far from clear.