Chelsea v Palmeiras Match Result
Chelsea are given a roughly 50% chance of landing a full-time success when they go up against Palmeiras. The Blues opened the campaign with a 2-0 victory against Los Angeles and finished the group stage by beating Esperance de Tunis. However, the middle game saw them beaten 3-1 by Flamengo and they also struggled to beat Benfica in normal-time last time out.
Having taken the lead in that last sixteen encounter through Reece James, a late Angel Di Maria penalty saw the scoreline go level before Chelsea ran riot in extra-time. Goals came from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, with Maresca able to plumb the depths of a squad who has recently been bolstered by the arrival of Joao Pedro.
Chelsea clearly have plenty of quality and they also won the Europa Conference League which is great recent experience in a tournament. However, Palmeiras could be a tough nut to crack. They haven’t lost a game at this Club World Cup and were able to finish top of Group A after a victory and two draws.
The Brazilian outfit drew 0-0 with Porto in their opening clash and were then able to topple Al-Ahly by a 2-0 scoreline. They then showed tremendous spirit to come from two goals down to score two late efforts and hold Inter Miami to a 2-2 draw. However, Chelsea might be encouraged by the way in which the MLS side were able to originally take command of the tie.
The draw has to be a runner considering that there’s a place in the semi-finals at stake. Palmeiras have kept three clean sheets in their four games at this tournament, with substitute Paulinho able to find the scoring touch when it mattered in the last clash.
Goals Under/Over
Under 2.5 Goals is the likeliest outcome according to the Club World Cup betting sites. It’s hardly a surprise when you consider that Palmeiras have been involved in two goalless draws already this term. They will also be aware of Chelsea’s attacking might so it might not be that they’re too adventurous from an attacking point-of-view against such dangerous opposition.
Similarly, Chelsea’s last sixteen tie against Benfica actually finished with a 1-1 scoreline in normal time before those three extra-time goals. That match was affected by weather delays and perhaps the Blues can be more prolific with a game which isn’t disrupted. However, one does wonder if their Brazilian opponents can cause problems based on their difficulty scoring on more than one occasion.
We think Under 2.5 Goals is a likely outcome for a few reasons, not least because the temperature will be warm and the tempo of the game is likely to be slow.
BTTS
When Under 2.5 Goals is trading as the favourite, it’s generally the case that BTTS No is also at odds-on. Only one of the three Palmeiras group games saw both teams find the net, with Inter Miami going two goals to the good until the Brazilian side were able to find a way back into the game and somehow find a couple of their own before full-time.
Aside from that, there have been two normal time goalless draws and a 2-0 win over an Al-Ahly side with scoring issues until that crazy 4-4 draw with Porto. It’s likely that they will be happy with the deadlock not being broken so that they can take their chances in extra-time. If the outsiders do manage to score, then perhaps they can cling on to a lead until the final whistle.
However, the most likely outcome is a Chelsea win and BTTS No. The Blues are simply better player for player, with the defence capable of shutting out Palmeiras considering they were nearly home with a 1-0 win over Benfica until they conceded a late injury-time penalty.
First Goalscorer
Liam Delap is the new number nine at Stamford Bridge and the first-choice centre forward could be the one to make a deadly impact here. He lasted eighty minutes against Benfica and will surely be given the nod to operate up top in this last eight clash. However, perhaps there will also be a threat from the wide attacking positions. We know that Cole Palmer will be on spot kick duties and it’s also worth noting that Pedro Neto was on the scoresheet against Benfica.
Christopher Nkunku could be on his way out of the London club but perhaps he can make a final impression, with Nicolas Jackson back from suspension to potentially take his place in the squad here. Even Joao Pedro could be involved here after signing a huge contract to arrive at the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Paulinho is possibly going to get the nod after scoring that injury-time winner and the 24-year-old could yet feature for Brazil at the World Cup next year. He has an impressive strike rate for Palmeiras although it was Mauricio who lasted the longest on the pitch out of all the attacking midfielders in the last sixteen clash against Botafogo.