Chelsea picked up a 3-1 win in their last outing, and they will certainly fancy their chances of getting a good result vs SL Benfica at the Bank of America Stadium. However, Benfica are in impressive form.
The Portuguese outfit have picked up two impressive victories in as many games, and they will be full of confidence. The Primeira Liga giants are coming into this match on the back of a narrow victory over German champions Bayern Munich.
Benfica will certainly fancy their chances vs Chelsea, and it will be interesting to see if they can pull off another upset. The Eagles cannot be taken lightly, and Chelsea need to raise their performance levels to get a good result here. The Blues will also have bad memories of the defeat to Flamengo, and The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Alexander Bah and Florentino Luis are injured for Bruno Lage’s side. Benfica will shape up in a 4-3-3 formation vs Chelsea, with Anatoliy Trubin in goal.
Fredrik Aursnes and Samuel Dahl will start as the full-backs. They will keep things tight at the back and hit Chelsea on the break. Meanwhile, the central defensive unit will see Tomas Araujo pairing up alongside Nico Otamendi.
As for the midfield unit, Leandro Barreiro will add composure, control and creativity to the side along with Renato Sanches in the middle of the park. Gianluca Prestianni will also start alongside them, and he will look to create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Andreas Schjelderup and Angel Di Maria will add pace, flair and goals to the side from the flanks. Finally, Vangelis Pavlidis will lead the line for Benfica vs Chelsea at the Bank of America Stadium on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Trubin; Aursnes, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl; Barreiro, Sanches, Prestianni; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Schjelderup
Mykhailo Mudryk is unavailable due to a doping ban. Other than that, Wesley Fofana is ruled out with a hamstring issue, and Nicolas Jackson remains suspended after his red card. Chelsea are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs SL Benfica, with Robert Sanchez in goal.
Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things compact at the back. Meanwhile, Trevoch Chalobah will pair up at the heart of the defence alongside Levi Colwill.
As for the midfield unit, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez will start in the double pivot. Caicedo will look to protect the back four and break down the opposition attacks, and Fernandez will look to add creativity and control to the side.
Cole Palmer will reprise the no. 10 role, and he will look to add goals and creativity to the side. Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto will start on either side of the English international. They will add pace and flair to the attack. Finally, Liam Delap will lead the line for Chelsea vs Benfica on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Delap
Benfica have not conceded a goal in their last two outings, and they will look to shut out the Chelsea attack this weekend. So, the Blues will need their attackers to step up and deliver. Liam Delap is thus our key player to watch out for.
The young Englishman will need to create opportunities for his teammates and find the back of the net as well. Chelsea will depend on him to make a difference in the final third. It will be interesting to see if the 22-year-old is the difference between the two teams here. He will need to produce a strong performance for his side to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals.
Both teams will be desperate for a victory on Saturday, and this is likely to be a close contest. Neither team will want to end up on the losing side. Benfica and Chelsea are likely to take an attacking approach, and they are likely to get on the score sheet here.
This will be an open game with a fair few chances. Both teams have the quality to come out on top here, and it will be difficult to separate them. However, Chelsea have more quality in depth, and they should be able to grind out a narrow victory here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Enzo Maresca and his charges.
