Chelsea v Los Angeles FC Match Result
As things stand, Chelsea are fifth favourites to win the Club World Cup. It’s fair to say that they’ll be hugely-motivated to win this competition and make a statement. But are they actually good enough to topple some of the European heavyweights?
Perhaps not although there’s a greater than 70% chance that the Blues will win this group opener against Los Angeles. Chelsea were the fourth-best team in the English top-flight last term and 69 points is no mean feat in such a competitive fashion. They won twenty of their thirty-eight clashes and should prove too strong for their MLS opponents.
A win at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta should pave the way for the top of the group, with Flamengo and Esperance de Tunis the other sides in the section. It seems likely that Maresca will take the majority of his first-team players to America and it would really lay down a marker if they were able to triumph overall.
Some might be wary of lumping on Chelsea at a short price considering that there are alternatives where you can side with the London side. For example, backing the Blues and also keeping a clean sheet could be a tidy little combination. It’s unlikely that we’ll see LA create a great deal against superior opposition.
LA are huge outsiders to pull off a shock. They’ve had a mixed bag of a season, sitting sixth in the Western Conference after winning just six of their fifteen encounters. Steve Cherundolo might find it hard to find a successful formula to overcome Chelsea despite that victory against Leon.
Other alternative ways to back Chelsea could be to take the London side to lead at half-time and full-time, with Maresca looking for his team to get on the front foot so that the stronger players can be preserved for later in the competition.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals is regarded as being likely to happen. The 2.5 Goals line might well be covered by Chelsea on their own given that there’s likely to be mismatch between the two sides. Maresca’s men will be looking to make a statement in this clash, with the team fresh from running in four goals against Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final.
Cole Palmer was the chief assist-maker for this team on that occasion, with Nicolas Jackson likely to be leading the line and the Senegalese forward finished the campaign strongly. However, Chelsea might be all about getting the job done here. If they go into a 2-0 lead, one wonders how much appetite there will be to score additional goals.
Los Angeles might aim to get among the goals themselves although one is doubtful as to whether they want an open clash. With this being the first encounter of the tournament, we are leaning towards a low-scoring match.
BTTS
According to the Club World Cup betting sites, there’s nothing between BTTS Yes and BTTS No. We are slightly surprised that BTTS No is not trading at a shorter price. We’re not expecting Los Angeles to create many chances in this game and they might struggle to live with the intensity of their opponents.
Chelsea will be focused on getting a win on the board and there might not be any room for defensive sloppiness. All the signs are there that the Blues will be at full-strength and they are likely to see a lot of the ball. Given that the match odds strongly suggest a win for the London outfit, we are leaning towards BTTS No to happen here.
This not only covers a Chelsea win to nil but also a Los Angeles shock victory without conceding. It also covers the goalless draw. The flip side is that a consolation goal might occur for Los Angeles but we certainly feel as though it’s the former option that represents betting value overall.
First Goalscorer
Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens are the names on the Chelsea radar according to reports. Should Delap complete a move from Ipswich Town, we might expect the forward to hit the ground running in this competition. However, Cole Palmer might be a more regular starter and the midfielder will be on spot kicks if he’s on the pitch should a penalty be awarded against Los Angeles.
Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku might be a twin-pronged attack for the London side, while Pedro Neto is a wide operator who will have represented Portugal in the Nations League. We also think that Enzo Fernandez might relish playing in a more advanced role and the Argentine was able to score in the Europa Conference League final.
At a bigger price, Marc Cucurella might be able to get into an advanced position from full-back and there’s also plenty to like about the prowess of Reece James on the opposite side. There could be any number of good first scorer options but it’s worth waiting for the roster to be announced along with the starting lineups.