Cruz Azul vs. Real Madrid: Club World Cup 2014 Semi-Final Live Stream, Preview

Real Madrid take their bow in the FIFA World Club Cup as they enter the competition at the semi-finals stage and will face CONCACAF champions, Cruz Azul.

The game was scheduled to be played in Rabat at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium but unsuitable pitch conditions after heavy rain has seen the tie moved to Marrakech.

Cruz Azul qualified from the quarter-finals after beating Australian team Western Sydney Wanderers on the waterlogged Rabat pitch, seeing the match played out in farcical and dangerous conditions, per Brian Homewood of Reuters via the Mail Online.

Here is how you can catch all of the action and witness if Los Blancos can make it to yet another major final:

When: Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. ET

Where: Grand Stade de Marrakech, Morocco 

TV Info: Fox (US only)

Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2 GO (US only)

Cruz Azul Mentally Prepared For The Galacticos

Abdeljalil Bounhar/Associated Press

Saturday saw Mexico club Cruz Azul achieve their goal of reaching the World Club Cup semi-final as they beat Western Sydney Wanderers 3-1.

Luis Fernando Tena's team were expected to qualify against the Aussies, but the game was marred by the extraordinary flooded pitch that the tie was played on.

But Tena was philosoophical after the victory and admitted he and his team have been preparing to face Real Madrid for a long time, per Kris Voakes of Goal.com:

"

We are so excited, of course. We have been thinking about Real Madrid for a long time, but we had to focus on the Western Sydney game and ensure we got a result.

We have to take some time now to think and analyse what will happen because we’re playing the best team in the world, who have won 20 straight matches, and we have just had to play 120 minutes on a muddy field.

Playing against the best is always a good experience, and they are not just the favourites to be us but also the favourites to win the Club World Cup. But it’s also true that surprises happen in football.

"

Abdeljalil Bounhar/Associated Press

But Azul have suffered harder times recently and have fallen to a string of poor results domestically.

The team finished only 13th in the Mexican league, per Soccerway, and they saw their form plummet. 

Madrid go into the match in supreme form and are the leaders of La Liga, four points clear of Barcelona, per Sky Sports.

The awful conditions in Rabat might have given Azul a chance of causing an upset against a Galactico team used to playing on perfect pitches, but the switch of venue will protect the Spanish giants' chances of making the final.

Paul White/Associated Press

But weather conditions aside, Azul are not a team who have shown form that would convince anyone that they could defeat Carlo Ancelotti's team.

And Ancelotti says his team "have to win" the World Club Cup, per FIFA.com—making you think that Madrid will go out with all guns blazing to capture the title:

"

We aim to win every competition we play in. There’s a good atmosphere in the team. If I had to give them a grade, they would get a very high mark. We finished the year well in the league and now it’s time to concentrate on the Club World Cup. We have to win it.

"

If Los Blancos are motivated, they will make very short work of the Mexican team.

Match Preview

Daniel Tejedor/Associated Press

Real Madrid will be without Luka Modric and James Rodriguez for their semi-final World Club Cup tie with Cruz Azul, with Sami Khedira also likely to be sidelined through injury, per Waddah Hassani of Soccerlens.com.

Hassani said Toni Kroos and Isco are likely to carry on as Madrid's midfield heart, with Asier Illarramendi also likely to be drafted in.

The game should also see the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo at some point, with the former Manchester United man in the goalscoring form of his life.

Currently, CR7 has 32 goals in the 23 games he has played in all competitions, per Hassani, and it is difficult to see how a less glamorous team like Azul could stop him.

And Bleacher Report's German football writer, Clark Whitney, recently highlighted Ronaldo's amazing form—joking that the player would "score 20" against Schalke when the teams meet in the next phase of the Champions League, with the player and his club in such an unstoppable mood:

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

This is a trophy made for Madrid to win. They are by far and away the best team in the tournament and a loss against the Mexicans is utterly unfathomable. Ronaldo is in the sort of mood which guarantees him goals every time he steps foot on the pitch, and he could grab himself a host of strikes to add to his bulging record books.

Azul could set up simply to stop Madrid, but it is imperative that they score to change the nature of the game. Only then might the Galacticos fluff their lines and allow a huge shock to occur—but it is unlikely to happen.