We look at the World Cup prospects for some Premier League teammates who will be on opposite teams during Brazil 2014. Which Premier League star will finish on top?

Who are the players?

Mesut Özil has won over 50 caps for Germany and was named in UEFA's Team of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Özil plays as an attacking midfielder, in the number 10 position, just behind the main striker. He has scored over 30 goals with Arsenal, Real Madrid, Werder Bremen and Schalke.

Olivier Giroud has won more than 20 caps for France. In February 2012, he scored his first international goal in a 2-1 victory against Germany! Giroud plays as a main striker. He has scored over 100 career goals and was Arsenal's top scorer this season, with 22 goals. 

How important are the players to their national teams?

Mesut Özil is one of many star players on the German national side. Özil was the top scorer for Germany's during the Brazil 2014 qualification matches, scoring 8 goals and helping Germany to qualify at the top of their group. Özil, along with other attacking talents such as Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Mario Götze (Bayern Munich) and Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), will make Germany a strong team in the tournament.

Olivier Giroud is often used as a target man, which means he holds the ball in attacking positions and passes to other forward players. France will hope that Giroud can link well with creative players such as Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) and Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) to score the goals that will take France into the later stages of the tournament. 

Do they have any weaknesses?

Both Özil and Giroud are world class players so they have very few weaknesses. However, Özil can be inconsistent sometimes and doesn't always playe his best. Also, he doesn't have a lot of physical strength and can be knocked off the ball too easily. Giroud sometimes isn't fast enough to go past defenders so relies on his physical strength.

What is our prediction?

France and Germany both finished top of their groups, but Germany found it difficult to beat Algeria in the last 16 whilst France looked good against Nigeria in their last 16 match. Both countries are ex-World Cup winners and have a lot of experience in their teams, which makes it a difficult match to predict. However, Germany are still favourites, and after a lucky escape against Algeria will be looking to improve on that performance.

We predict that Özil will score in a comfortable 2-0 win for Germany. 

When and where is the match?

This match will be played on July 4th at 1700 GMT in the 75,117 capacity Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Lots of Premier League teammates will face off at Brazil 2014.  Read another World Cup Face Off article - Antonio Valencia (Manchester Utd and Ecuador) versus Patrice Evra (Manchester Utd and France). 

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