Fabinho hopes Al Ittihad can continue Club World Cup journey - and avoid Manchester City

Al Ittihad midfielder Fabinho says the hosts’ fervent support could prove decisive in their bid to reach the Fifa Club World Cup final – although he joked he does not want to meet old rivals Manchester City in the showpiece.

The former Liverpool star, who made the move to Saudi Arabia in July, was integral to Ittihad’s 3-0 victory in the tournament opener against Auckland City on Tuesday night in Jeddah. The kingdom is staging the Club World Cup for the first time.

The win set up a highly anticipated, second-round clash on Friday with African champions Al Ahly, where the teams will meet at another sold-out King Abdullah Sports City for a place in the semi-final.

That will take place on Monday against recent Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense, with the carrot of a potential final against 2022/23 treble winners City to come on December 22.

Having witnessed incredible support from more than 50,000 fans in the opening match, Fabinho is relying on that support once more as Ittihad look to become only the second Saudi side to make the Club World Cup final.

“It’s really important to play at home, to play with our fans,” the Brazil international, winner with Liverpool in 2019, said. “We could see [against Auckland] how good they are, how loud they are.

“So, yes, this is a little advantage we will try to use in the next game and hopefully to the end of the competition as well.

“We have to try and prepare in the best conditions to play against Ahly. We know they are a good team, they are used to playing this competition [this marks their 10th appearance], so it will be tough, be hard, but we have to prepare well.”

Like Fluminense, City enter the tournament at the semi-final stage, where on Tuesday they take on the winner of