Although Real Madrid have had a tough season, they have an opportunity to bounce back in the Club World Cup under Xabi Alonso.

Odds courtesy of 1xBet. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

The dawn of a new era for Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s new boss, Xabi Alonso, has a big challenge ahead in the Spanish capital as he will replace Carlo Ancelotti, who has left to become the coach of Brazil’s national team. He leaves Real Madrid as the most successful manager in the club’s history. 

Madrid have won the Club World Cup twice under him. However, with the competition adopting a different approach this time around, it will likely be much more difficult to win. The days of European clubs dominating smaller teams from across the world are behind us. Instead, Europe’s elite will compete against each other.

Alonso takes over Madrid after another solid season in charge of Bayer Leverkusen. However, it wasn’t as successful as his first, which saw his Leverkusen side come so close to winning three major trophies. Although they came up short in their defense of both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, his brand of football has attracted interest from top clubs.

Alonso reportedly passed up the opportunity to become Liverpool’s manager last summer, and now he’s taken on an arguably bigger job. It’s no surprise that he quickly became a famous manager. Currently, he has a crucial task to get Madrid back to the top of European football once again.

Once a Madrid player, now the manager, Alonso adopts a unique managerial approach. His sides typically play with a back three, which aren’t usually seen in football. Therefore, the biggest question is how long it will take Madrid to adapt to his style of play since they mostly played with a back four under Ancelotti.

Manchester United serves as an example of how difficult it can be to transition to a back three. It’s not something that happens overnight. Alonso will officially take charge on June 1st, so he’ll have two weeks to implement his style, raising concern about Madrid’s performance in the upcoming tournament.

How should bettors approach Madrid in the Club World Cup?

It’s difficult to say what to expect from Madrid in the Club World Cup for certain, mainly because of the manager and the available players. Madrid hope to have Trent Alexander-Arnold in the team, but no final decision has been reached.

Defensively, Madrid have struggled for numbers, as they missed key centre-backs for most of the season. However, one of them, Eder Militao, is expected to return for the Club World Cup. That will be a huge boost for Alonso, who has already strengthened his backline by recruiting Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth.

Alonso’s Leverkusen side conceded at least twice in each of their last three games of the season. It’s evident that Alonso has identified defence as an area in which he can improve as a coach. Madrid will play against inferior opposition at the Club World Cup, especially in the early stages. The odds will reflect that, so this could be a good opportunity to bet against Madrid keeping clean sheets or to look at the BTTS market.

With an extra defender on the pitch, Madrid will have to sacrifice someone at the other end. Alonso tends to play with two players behind the striker, raising questions over the future of Jude Bellingham. Even though he usually occupies a traditional #10 berth, he may be forced a little wider since Alonso does not deploy one of those.

That would likely be a red flag in backing him in the anytime scorer market. With such competition in the wide areas from Mbappe, Vini Jr, Rodrygo, and Endrick, it’s hard to see where he fits. Alonso could choose to force him into a slightly deeper #8 role. 

Bettors could also find value in backing defenders to score. Four of Alonso’s highest-appearing defenders have scored at least three times last season. Additionally, his two first-choice wingbacks both scored more than 10 goals in the season prior.

Alexander-Arnold will be at great value in the anytime scorer market if he returns, as would left-back Álvaro Carreras if his transfer deal gets finalized soon. Backing defenders could provide better value against weaker opposition than Mbappe and Vini Jr.