Chelsea Eye Favourable Path as Palmeiras Seek Revenge in Club World Cup Quarter-Final Showdown
Following Chelsea’s dismantling of Benfica on Saturday in one of the craziest games of the tournament, they now host São Paulo-based Palmeiras in an intriguing quarter-final contest. The winner will face either Fluminense or Al Hilal in the semi-final.
For Chelsea, this is an opportunity to take advantage of a ‘favourable’ bracket, with Manchester City and Inter Milan being knocked out in the round of 16 and the rest of the ‘big’ teams like Real Madrid and PSG being on the other side of the draw. For Palmeiras, however, this is a chance to prove themselves against one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Chelsea have only ever faced Brazilian teams three times before this fixture, the latest being a 3-1 loss to Flamengo in the group stage of this year’s Club World Cup.
The two before that were both Club World Cup finals, the latest being a 2-1 Chelsea win against Palmeiras after extra time in 2022, where Kai Havertz’ stoppage time penalty dispatched the Verdão and brought the trophy to Stamford Bridge. The other was in the 2012 final, with Corinthians besting Chelsea 1-0, picking up their second Club World Cup title.
Form & Squad News
Both clubs have been on top form recently, with Palmeiras’ latest game against Botafogo in the round of 16 being their 10th clean sheet in their last 14 games in all competitions, and Chelsea having won 11 of their last 13 games in all competitions. Chelsea’s last 16 triumph over Benfica also became the 14th time in all competitions that Chelsea have scored four or more goals in a single game under Enzo Maresca, which is the most by any Premier League team since Maresca’s first game in charge of the Blues.
Chelsea will be hoping to add to that number following the acquisition of attacker João Pedro from Brighton in a £50 million deal. The Brazilian is a versatile forward and constant goal threat, hitting double figures in his last three seasons, including scoring 20 goals in 40 appearances in 2023/24. He has a real chance to feature off the bench, being successfully registered for the quarter-final and onwards. Another Blue to keep your eye on is Enzo Fernández. The Argentina international already has one goal and two assists and will be looking to notch a couple more in a game that he will certainly be key in.
As for Palmeiras, the obvious threat is Chelsea-bound 18-year-old sensation Estêvão Willian, with 16 goal contributions so far this season, and he was the first Brazilian to reach 30 career goals and assists before turning 18 since Neymar Jr in 2010. The wonderkid already has two man of the match awards to his name during this competition, the joint-second most of any player behind Fluminense’s Jhon Arias.
However, Estêvão is yet to register a goal contribution in the Club World Cup, unlike midfielder Richard Ríos, who has been on fire so far in the Club World Cup. Ríos is arguably the Verdão’s biggest threat aside from Estêvão, being a reliable box-to-box midfielder who possesses great ball-carrying ability. Ríos has won 25 ground duels at the Club World Cup, the most of any player in the tournament.
Currently, both teams have injuries, with important centre-half Murilo picking up a thigh issue in Palmeiras’ game against Inter Miami. On the flip side, Chelsea’s French centre-back duo Benoît Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are both out injured, and midfielder Romeo Lavia has not been pictured in training this week. Chelsea have sufficient depth to cover these positions, with players like Andrey Santos, Tosin and Sarr available. Palmeiras also have options such as Micael and Kaiky Naves.
Palmeiras may struggle to replace a pillar of their team, such as Murilo; however, Bruno Fuchs had a brilliant game against Botafogo. They have a dilemma going into their clash with the Blues, with club legend Gustavo Gómez and left-back Joaquín Piquerez both serving a one-game suspension. As for the West Londoners, Nicolas Jackson is back in action after serving his two-game suspension following his red card against Fluminense; however, Ecuador international Moisés Caicedo is suspended for the clash following his yellow card against Benfica. It is also unlikely that winger Pedro Neto will feature in this match, as he was not pictured in training on Thursday, likely having been sent home after his close friend Diogo Jota’s heartbreaking passing.
Potential Lineups & Score Prediction
With a couple of key players injured and suspended, Palmeiras boss Abel Ferreira has some decisions to make, particularly at the back. The Brazilians may line up quite differently to how they did against Botafogo but still play a 4-2-3-1: Weverton, Giay, Fuchs, Micael, Vanderlan, Ríos, Moreno, Torres, Veiga, Estêvão, and Vitor Roque.
24-year-old Micael defender comes into the back four to replace a suspended Gustavo Gomez, with Moreno retaking his starting spot from Martinez after playing well against Porto and Al Ahly and Facundo Torres coming back into the side at left wing. Club captain Raphael Veiga starts at attacking midfield after not playing at all against Botafogo and left back Vanderlan replaces suspended starter Piquerez. Despite being Palmeiras’ top scorer this Club World Cup, super-sub Paulinho stays benched for Vitor Roque to potentially do some damage later on in the game.
Looking over at Chelsea now, we are predicting Enzo Maresca to set them up in a similar manner to their dismantling of Benfica, in a sort of 4-2-2-2: Sánchez, James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella, Santos, Fernández, Essugo, Palmer, Madueke, and Delap.
Three changes are made from the team on Saturday, with Tosin stepping in for an injured Badiashile and Essugo replacing Caicedo, who is suspended for this match. Andrey Santos also gets the nod over Roméo Lavia, as I suspect that he could be injured, having not been seen in training for a few days now. I also expect João Pedro to make his debut; he will likely play the same left half-space second striker role that we have seen Cole Palmer take up recently. Madueke comes in on the right for Neto, who appears to have been sent home by the club following this morning’s tragic news.
We think the Blues will just about squeak through and the predicted scoreline is Chelsea 2-1 Palmeiras, a mirror of the 2022 final.
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