Madrid will travel to Morocco on the back of five wins from their last nine matches in all competitions and having fallen further behind arch-rivals Barcelona in the La Liga title race.
Marco Asensio’s saved spot-kick condemned Los Blancos to defeat at Mallorca on Monday in their final match before the tournament, one it appears they’ll contest without several of their star players.
Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, defender Eder Militao and full-back Ferland Mendy are expected to miss the remainder of the month, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois did not face Mallorca after sustaining an injury in the warm-up.
It’s a headache coach Carlo Ancelotti will have to manage over the coming days, with opponents Al Ahly full of confidence and eyeing a historic upset in front of more than 50,000 supporters.
The Cairo club are yet to taste defeat this season and have carried their table-topping domestic form with them to the Club World Cup, where victories over Auckland City and the Seattle Sounders have propelled them to the final four for the third successive season.
No club outside the CONMEBOL or UEFA confederations have ever lifted the Club World Cup in its current format, though the latter’s highly revered representatives have failed in the past.
Champions League winners Liverpool (2005), Barcelona (2006) and Chelsea (2012) are three teams to have been beaten on the international stage, and the Egyptian giants will hope to add Madrid to that list at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Marcel Koller’s 4-1-4-1 formation has had success thus far at the tournament, with Aliou Dieng sitting in front of a back four that has conceded just one goal in their previous eight outings.
Breaching such a stubborn backline will be made all the more difficult without Benzema, which is why the likes of Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo will need to step up if the Spanish side are to get back on track at this crucial point in their season.
