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Salzburg vs Real Madrid Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction

Date: June 27, 2025 Venue: Lincoln Financial Field Kickoff Time: 20:00 (UK Time) The match between Salzburg and Real Madrid will be the last in Group H and will be played on June 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Salzburg, the most surprising appearance at the Club World Cup and making their first appearance so far, will face the 2022 and 2024 European champions, Real Madrid. For Salzburg, it was a truly disastrous season, finishing only 2nd in the Austrian championship, behind Sturm Graz. There were 10 years in a row in which the sister team of RB Leipzig completely dominated Austrian football, but in 2024, Sturm Graz took the lead. For Red Bull, it was a season to forget, finishing with only one victory in the Champions League group stage and having the worst goal difference with -22. In the first match of the Club World Cup groups, Salzburg managed a 2-1 victory over the Mexicans from Pachuca.

Dragos Soneriu
Dragos Soneriu

Last updated: 2025-06-24

Chad Nagel

7 minutes read

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Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

Vinicius Junior/Getty Images

Real Madrid are in a period of transition after the departure of Carlo Ancelotti, who spent four years in the Spanish capital. Xabi Alonso has been installed on the bench, but the ultra-attacking style of play he had at Leverkusen is yet to be implemented by Madrid. Only the second place in Spain and a humiliation experience in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Arsenal, Real hopes to win the second "global" trophy this season after they’ve also won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Real disappointed in the first match and drew shyly 1-1 against Al Hilal.

With excitement building and anticipation growing ahead of kickoff, the world's betting fans are already diving into the odds and assessing both teams, hoping to find the best value. For a detailed, in-depth look at the match, be sure to check out our full preview.

Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability

  1. Salzburg: 21/2 (11.5) – 8.7%

  2. Draw: 5/1 (6.00) – 16.7%

  3. Real Madrid: 13/50 (1.26) – 79.4%

    Odds courtesy of sportbet.io, subject to change.

Head-to-Head Record

Last Five Meetings: 

  1. 1

    21/01/25: Real Madrid 5-1 Salzburg (UEFA Champions League)

  2. 2

    07/08/19: Juventus 1-0 Manchester City (Friendly)

Salzburg Current Form – WLWWW

At the start of the 2024-25 season, the front pages of Austrian sports newspapers announced that Pepijn Lijnders, former Liverpool assistant manager and Jurgen Klopp's right-hand man, had been installed as Salzburg's head coach. For the Dutch manager, it was probably the beginning of the end of his career as a head coach. Salzburg lost to Rapid Vienna, Blau-Weiss Linz and LASK Linz, and above all, were humiliated 5-0 by Sturm Graz. As a result, on December 16, Lijnders was dismissed.

In his place, the German Thomas Letsch was brought in, who did his best to make amends this season. However, he failed to win the title and the cup. It was a dry season, without trophies for the most successful team in Austria. The only notable moments of this season were certainly the moments when he managed to eliminate Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League play-offs.

In the first group match, Salzburg showed that they are a very capable team offensively and they defeated Mexican team Pachuca 2-1. However, there is a great lack of experience among the Salzburg players, who rarely come across such opportunities. The average age is somewhere around 22 years old, which is something a team like Real Madrid can always knock down. But what we have to note is that young teams usually surprise the most in big matches.

Key Players to Watch

Oscar Gloukh: The Israeli midfielder is by far the most valuable player in the group, he is rated at 20 million euros and can always produce a spectacular moment.

Maurits Kjaergaard: Despite his size, he's agile and technical, often compared stylistically to De Bruyne or Kaká. Still only 21, he’s a top talent with room to grow, especially in consistency, finishing, and defensive work.

Karim Onisiwo: At 33 years old, the striker, who came off the bench with Pachuca, brought victory and showed his experience gained largely in the German Bundesliga where he played for 9 years at Mainz.

Salzburg Team News

A lot of Salzburg players are missing from the Club World Cup squad, either because of injuries or because they will most likely leave the team. Karim Konate, Amar Dedic, Moussa Yeo, Nicolas Capaldo, Bobby Clark, Aleksa Terzic, Hendry Blank, Daouda Guindo, Leandro Morgalla, Takumu Kawamura, Maximiliano Caufriez, Janis Blaswich and Samson Tijani will not play against Real Madrid.

Real Madrid Current Form – LWWD

Carlo Ancelotti's most valuable asset, namely the defense, has been catastrophic this season for Real Madrid, and this is largely due to the large number of injured players in the defence. Xabi Alonso arrived at a time when the club was not at its most stable. With Ancelotti on the bench, Real finished below Barcelona in the league, were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Arsenal and lost both the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

Florentino Perez rushed into this transfer campaign precisely to have players available from the start of the Club World Cup. Star Trent Alexander-Arnold, after a long saga, arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu and left Liverpool on a free transfer. Also, 18-year-old midfielder with Juan Roman Riquelme potential, Franco Mastantuono, was brought in for 45 million euros from River Plate, and for the Spaniard with Dutch origins Dean Huijsen, almost 63 million euros were paid to transfer him from the revelation Premier League team, Bournemouth.

Alonso wants to have a perfect debut at Real Madrid. A coach who achieved the impossible with Leverkusen and won the title without a single defeat in Germany, now wants to win his first major trophy, but with a team that has a dressing room full of pride and strong personalities.

Key Players to Watch

Kylian Mbappe: The Frenchman has begun his recovery after being discharged from hospital. The French star was affected by acute gastroenteritis and required hospitalization in Miami. He is clearly a vital piece for Real Madrid.

Vinicius Jr.: There have been numerous talks with Mbappe and Vinicius are not on the best terms. However, these speculations can be overcome if the two manage to bring this trophy to Madrid.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: Having left Liverpool with a scandal, the Englishman must adapt quickly to Real Madrid in order to meet the huge expectations of the club's supporters in the Spanish capital.

Real Madrid Team News

Alaba, Carvajal, Mendy, Eder Militao, Endrick and Camavinga are injured and will be absent. Kylian Mbappe, although he was hospitalized in Miami, has been discharged and is expected to play.

Predicted Line-Ups

  1. Salzburg: 4 - 4 - 2

    Zawieschitzky; Lainer, Gadou, Rasmussen, Kratzig; Nene, Bidstrup, Sulzbacher, Gloukh; Baidoo, Ratkov

  2. Real Madrid: 4 - 2 - 1 - 3

    Courtois; Garcia, Asencio, Huijsen, Alexander-Arnold; Valverde, Tchouameni; Bellingham; Vinicius Jr., Garcia, Rodrygo

Suggested Bets

There are many bets that can be made in this match, this match being between two well-known teams from Europe offers good betting odds.

  1. Real Madrid to win: It's clear that Real is the stronger team in this match, they have a lot of superstars and even though they haven't played many matches with Xabi Alonso as coach yet, the Spanish vice-champion must win this match. (7/25 with Stake) (279/1000 with 888Starz) (7/25 with Sportsbet.io)

  2. Over 3.5 Goals: The offensive trio of Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius is truly lethal, we expect to see goals from them, especially since they did not impress in the Champions League. (61/100 with Stake) (57/100 with 888Starz) (57/100 with Sportsbet.io)

  3. Real Madrid to win the 2nd half: Most of the goals come in the second half, the pace will be higher, and Alonso's team will strike just when Salzburg's lack of experience shows itself. (14/25 with Stake) (27/20 with 888Starz) (27/50 with Sportsbet.io)

Value Bets

There are many football bets that can be maximized and through which we can make a very good profit if we look at the odds:

  1. Real Madrid winning margin 3+: Real Madrid has a great appetite for goals, and backing Los Blancos to win by 3 goals isn't so far-fetched. (17/10 with Stake)

  2. A player coming off the bench to score: A very good chance. Just like Onsiwo did in the match against Pachuca, it could also happen for Real, who have a very good bench, especially in attack. (11/10 with 888Starz)

  3. Vinicius Junior to score anytime: Still upset that he didn't win the Ballon d'Or, the Brazilian must start the season strong to still hope for the prestigious individual trophy, his chance is to score as many goals as possible in this tournament. (12/5 with Sportsbet.io)

Prediction: Real Madrid to Win

The experience, the strength, the squad and the huge difference between the two must be felt on the pitch. Real is a team that deserved to be in this competition the most, being the only one to have won a continental trophy twice in the last 4 years. The Madrid team will manage to beat Salzburg, maybe even by a difference of 3-4 goals.

Dragos Soneriu
Dragos SoneriuSports Journalist & Commentator

With a strong background in journalism and years of experience in sports commentary, Dragoș Șoneriu has written about every aspect of sport, from match reports and features to tactical analyses and investigative pieces. A lifelong Arsenal fan, he dreams of seeing his beloved team lift the Premier League trophy. Outside of work, Dragoș collects anything football-related, from stickers and mugs to vintage shirts and scarves.

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