Ulsan will face Mamelodi Sundowns at the Exploria Stadium on Tuesday in the opening group-stage game of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign. The Tigers have had mixed results in their domestic assignments of late, but will break from that this week as they make their return to the global stage.
The South Korean giants last featured in the Club World Cup back in the 2020-21 season after their AFC Champions League triumph. They were beaten 2-1 by eventual finalists Tigres in their first game of the tournament in 2021 before suffering a comprehensive 3-1 defeat to Qatari outfit Al Duhail in their battle for fifth place.
Mamelodi Sundowns, meanwhile, will head into the Club World Cup on the back of a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Egyptian side Pyramids in the CAF Champions League final, as their wait for a second continental title extends to nine years.
Bafana ba Style are one of four African clubs in the global showpiece this year, although they are the only team from the south of the continent. Sundowns will now be targeting a positive result this week ahead of their meeting with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Tuesday's game will feature two closely matched sides and could ultimately be decided by individual quality. Ulsan have, however, struggled for results on foreign grounds in recent games and will have to step things up significantly on Tuesday.
Sundowns' latest result ended a nine-game unbeaten streak, and they will be looking to return to winning ways here but may have to settle for a point.
Prediction: Ulsan 1-1 Mamelodi Sundowns
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in six of Ulsan's last seven matches)
Tip 3 - Sundowns to score first: YES (The South African outfit have opened the scoring in seven of their last eight outings)