FIFA Club World Cup 2014 Playoff: Fixtures, Schedule and Predictions

The 11th FIFA Club World Cup gets under way on Wednesday in Morocco as Moghreb Tetouan take on Auckland City in a playoff to see who will take the final spot in the year-ending tournament.

Whichever team is victorious in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium will book a place in the quarter-finals to face the waiting Algerians ES Setif.

Mexican side Cruz Azul are already set to face Western Sydney Wanderers in the other quarter-final, the respective winners of the first-stage matches going on to face either Copa Libertadores winners San Lorenzo or European champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

Pedro Vilela/Getty Images

Thus, seven teams have the chance of becoming Club World Cup winners before Christmas although the odds are heavily stacked in favour of Real who are currently on a 19-match winning run in all competitions.

Here we provide the full schedule for the tournament as well as a range of predictions for how things are going to pan out.

Date	Game	Stage	Time (GMT/ET)	Fixture
Dec. 10	Game 1	Playoff	7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m.	Moghreb Tetouan vs. Auckland City
Dec. 13	Game 2	Quarter-final	4 p.m./11 a.m.	ES Setif vs. Winner Game 1
Dec. 13	Game 3	Quarter-final	7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m.	Cruz Azul vs. Western Sydney Wanderers
Dec. 16	Game 4	Semi-final	7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m.	Winner Game 3 vs. Real Madrid
Dec. 17	Game 5	Semi-final	7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m.	San Lorenzo vs. Winner Game 4
Dec. 17	Game 6	Fifth-place playoff	4:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.	Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3
Dec. 20	Game 7	Third-place playoff	4:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.	Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5
Dec. 20	Game 8	Final	7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m.	Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Predictions

Christian Palma/Associated Press

First things first, it is appropriate to have a look at who will be the sixth team to qualify for the tournament proper when Moghreb Tetouan take on Auckland City on Wednesday.

Tetouan hold the edge as hosts with the home advantage and the Moroccan champions have recently seen star-striker Mouhssine Iajour return to form as he bagged a double against FUS Rabat at the end of November.

Auckland City qualify as winners of the OFC Champions League and defender Angel Berlanga knows that his side face a tough challenge on Wednesday, despite admitting knowing little about the opposition, per FIFA:

"

I don't know much about Moghreb Tetouan - they won the Moroccan league, of course, which is not easy. They'll be very competitive, we saw that with Raja Casablanca.

"

The Kiwi side are making their sixth appearance in the Club World Cup but they should not be expected to make it any further than the playoffs. Tetouan have the greater quality and home advantage and will send Auckland out in the first round for the fifth time in the New Zealand side's six tournaments.

Abdeljalil Bounhar/Associated Press

Thus it is set to be an all-African affair in the first quarter-final, with ES Setif set to advance to the semi-finals to face San Lorenzo. The Algerian side have lost only one of their last nine in all competitions and, as CAF Champions League winners, they have enough quality to see of their expected Moroccan opposition in the quarter-finals.

In the other quarter-final, Cruz Azul will beat the Western City Wanderers, although the playing of that match is somewhat under threat as players at the 2012-established club are threatening to boycott the competition over pay, per Back Page Football:

Either way, the Sydney outfit currently sit bottom of the A-League and just simply will not have the game to beat Cruz Azul.

Thus, the semi-finals will be San Lorenzo against ES Setif and Real Madrid versus Cruz Azul. There surely can be no other final than the Copa Libertadores champions taking on the Champions League winners, even with Real set to be missing one of their star men in James Rodriguez, per Fox Soccer:

"

James Rodriguez to miss FIFA Club World Cup with calf injury. http://t.co/0IwT7SdUcF pic.twitter.com/V6wbEOMJgQ

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2014"

San Lorenzo come into the competition in patchy form and they currently sit eighth in the Argentinian top-flight. In contrast, Real have won their last 19 matches, are top of the La Liga table and were victorious in all six of their Champions League group-stage matches culminating in a 4-0 thrashing of Ludogorets on Tuesday.

There is little to suggest that Carlo Ancelotti's juggernaut, including the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, will drop form when they make the trip to Morocco and, for that reason, they will be victorious at the Club World Cup.

Club World Cup Final Prediction: Real Madrid 4-1 San Lorenzo