Fluminense vs Borussia Dortmund predictions: Germans could be caught cold by Flu
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- Fluminense were runners-up in 2023
- Dortmund won seven of their last eight Bundesliga games
- Recommended bet: Fluminense or Draw Double Chance
Borussia Dortmund are clear favourites to beat Fluminense and go on to win Group F at the Club World Cup, and they have flown out to the United States in sparkling form.
Revitalised under Niko Kovac, BVB ended the season on a six-game winning streak.
However, Fluminense, underrated by many, have also hit form as they head to New Jersey for what looks like the group decider.
Team news
Veteran ex-Chelsea central defender Thiago Silva will lead the Fluminense side from the back alongside Juan Pablo Freytes.
New Venezuelan striker Yeferson Soteldo has been ruled out with a recently-sustained thigh injury.
Dortmund skipper Emre Can and centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck are injured while midfielder Salih Ozcan has been left out of the squad.
New signing Jobe Bellingham has travelled in Dortmund's 28-man party but will probably be on the bench in New Jersey.
The stats
Four-time Brazilian champions Fluminense qualified as winners of the Copa Libertadores in November 2023.
A month later they reached the Club World Cup final, losing to Manchester City.
Flu have picked up since Renato Gaucho returned as head coach in April, winning 12 and losing only three of their last 18 matches.
Dortmund, 11th in the Bundesliga when Niko Kovac was appointed in late January, went on to finish fourth.
They signed off the season with a six-game winning streak, scoring at least three goals in each of those six fixtures.
Each of their last 10 games has produced over two goals, nine of them yielding over three goals.
Prediction
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Two clubs reborn since making coaching changes could lay on a decent affair at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Borussia Dortmund, on fire since Kovac took the helm in January, are clear favourites to beat the Brazilians and go on to win the group.
But Flu have also been inspired by their 'new' man at the helm, the evergreen Renato Gaucho, who has returned for a sixth spell in charge.
There is a swagger about the way Dortmund play which suggests they will be doing much of the attacking and, in Serhou Guirassy, they boast one of the hottest strikers in Europe.
But Flu are canny, massively improved under Renato Gaucho following a disappointing 2024 and have enough experience to be able to weather whatever the Germans chuck at them.
Their own threats – notably Colombian duo Jhon Arias and Kevin Serna – may not get too many sighters of Dortmund's goal but the Germans can leave themselves vulnerable on the counter.
This is quite possibly not the foregone conclusion the prices suggest it might be and the Fluminense or Draw Double Chance appeals.
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