FIFA Club World Cup: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Atletico Madrid odds, picks and prediction
The last time we saw Paris Saint-Germain, they were celebrating their first-ever Champions League title after drubbing Inter Milan, 5-0, in the Final in Munich.It was a win decades in the making, and that day will go down as the most important in the history of France’s most famous club.PSG will want to continue the good times at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but you can see how this tournament will be more of a cool-down for the champions of Europe than a trophy they are desperate to hoist.Nonetheless, Les Parisiens are -115 favorites on the three-way moneyline against Atletico Madrid for Sunday’s tilt at the Rose Bowl.Atletico Madrid comes into the FIFA Club World Cup after another strong season in 2024-25.Los Colchoneros finished third in La Liga behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, made it to the semifinals in the Copa del Rey, and went to the Round of 16 in the Champions League.Atleti will be disappointed not to have won any hardware, but it was another solid season under the stewardship of Diego Simeone, the second-longest serving manager in Europe’s Big 5 Leagues. Atletico Madrid is known for their physicality and commitment to defense, but it’s also been a splendid tournament team under Simeone during his tenure.Simeone gets the most out of his players, and he expects them to play just about every match like it’ll be their last.That makes Los Colchoneros an intriguing underdog on Sunday, but also a team to watch in this tournament, overall.If you were to take all the teams in Europe’s Big 5 Leagues and make a power ranking, you’d likely have PSG near the very top, and Atletico Madrid right around 10th. PSG finished with the best expected goals difference among Europe’s best leagues, but Atletico Madrid wasn’t far behind in seventh. They finished third and fourth, respectively, in expected goals conceded, which tells you just how good these defenses were in 2024-25.It also suggests that the gap between these two teams isn’t all that wide,...