Kashima Antlers vs Real Madrid Predictions

Wednesday’s FIFA Club World Cup semi-final action sees AFC Champions League winners Kashima Antlers doing battle with UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid. The Spaniards are huge favourites to book their place in the final but are not expected to have everything their own way.

After reaching the final of the Club World Cup back in 2016, Kashima are back in the competition and are looking to give Real a run for their money once again. Two years ago, the Japanese outfit went 2-1 up against Real in said final and looked set to cause a huge upset, but eventually went on to lose 4-2 in extra time.

Nonetheless, the Antlers are back for another stab at the European giants, courtesy of a 3-2 win over Mexicans Chivas on Saturday that certainly showed they’re not an outfit to be taken lightly. Fresh off a third placed finish in the J League as well as securing their continental crown, Kashima are undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in Asia and will be looking to do their continent proud with a strong showing on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, having won the competition in the last two seasons, Real arrive with the expectation of doing so once again. Los Blancos have been an incredibly powerful force in recent years, picking up an unprecedented 3 straight Champions League crowns but there’s certainly now the feeling that all is not quite right in the camp.

Both Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo’s departures look to have disrupted Real greatly and following Julen Lopetegui’s failed stint in the dugout, Santiago Solari finds himself in charge. Currently 4th and 6 points behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga, and having been whistled off the pitch twice in the last week, following a 3-0 home defeat to CSKA Moscow and an inspiring 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano, it’s fair to say Real are not enjoying the best of campaigns.

As such, it’s imperative that Real win this match to avoid further enraging their already incensed fanbase and for all their struggles, they’ve still won 5 of their last 6 outings, so can be pretty confident in doing so. Real’s team may not being functioning with optimum efficiency but their individual quality should still be enough to guide them through this match.

We do think Real Madrid will win this semi-final but at such short odds, there’s simply no value to be found whatsoever and we instead like the look of backing both nets to be hit. Kashima put two past Real a couple of years ago and are an extremely potent outfit that has now scored an average of 2.4 goals a game over their last 5 Club World Cup matches.

Kashima also scored an average of 1.47 goals a game over their recently ended J-League campaign and with Real coming into the clash in less than spectacular shape, we do envisage Kashima scoring, albeit it in a 3-1 defeat, a scoreline worth backing in combination with our main pick.