For Chelsea Football Club the expectations come with the badge but more than anything, the weight the players put on themselves holds even heavier.
After a near scare against Plymouth Argyle, the boys in boys in blue are not taking any opponent for granted especially when the next opponents Al Hilal, are known giants in Saudi Arabia.
Players like Mateo Kovacic , Hakim Ziyech and the veterans of the game Cesar Azpilcueta and Thiago Silva look to guide the team to only trophy Chelsea have not yet captured, the FIFA Club World Cup after the the defeat and heartbreak against SC Corinthians.
Chelsea looking to rectify that defeat is not going to be easy, former Porto man Moussa Marega and Chelsea nemesis Matheus Pereira who has scored with 50% of his career goals against Chelsea are looking to cause us trouble, and with the absence of Thomas Tuchel on the touch line the assistant manager Arno Michels should be in a for a great match tactically.
Chelsea are unpredictable and could turn up in a 4-2-3-1, a 4-2-2-2, a 4-1-4-1, 3-4-2-1, 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, Al Hilal cannot prepare for this and Chelsea will try and put their Premier League intensity onto the Saudi Opponents from minute 1. Something tells me goals will be hard to come by in a thriller.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
“Reece James, no chance he’ll play in the cup. He’s in a good way but will miss still some days. He’s here to enjoy the group again.
Mendy will arrive probably later today or tomorrow and we’ll see how tired he is. He has to arrive first, we have to check him and talk to him. We’ll see if it’s possible he plays, maybe.”
Ziyech is getting better and better. He’s in good shape, in good form. He’ll possibly start tomorrow.
Mason is getting better and better every team. We’ll see how he moves and feels today, take the last decision tomorrow. We had a hard cup game with 120 minutes and a long trip here.”
Zsolt Low on team news.
Zsolt Low also confirmed that Thomas Tuchel is taking Covid tests everyday to get to Abu Dhabi ‘as fast as possible’.
AL HILAL TEAM NEWS
There will be plenty of familiar faces on show for Al Hilal. Former West Brom star Matheus Pereira is the biggest name and will likely line up in a team with Moussa Marega and Odion Ighalo, formerly of Porto and Manchester United respectively.
There will, however, be no sign of Bafetimbi Gomis, who left to join Galatasaray last month.
How to watch Al Hilal vs Chelsea on TV/live stream
When is kick off? Wednesday 9 February, 16:30 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium
TV channel/live stream? E4 (UK), Fox Sports/fubo TV (US)
Highlights? FIFA YouTube channel
Referee? TBC
VAR? TBC
My final prediction is that Chelsea will prevail 2-1 and move onto the final! 🏆
