Club World Cup semi-finals preview: In-form Chelsea strong favourites to make final

The Club World Cup is upon us as Chelsea head out to Abu Dhabi as they join Al Hilal, Al Ahly and Palmeiras to fight it out for world glory.

We take a look at Chelsea’s opening game of the competition here.

Al Hilal v Chelsea

Chelsea enter the semi-final stage of the Club World Cup where they will take on Al Hilal who have already been in action after defeating Al Jazira 6-1 on Sunday.

It has been ten years since Chelsea last played in a Club World Cup, but they will be hoping for a different result to last time after they lost to Corinthians in the final of the competition. Chelsea are priced at 1/3 to go one step further this time and win the competition. This will be the sixth time an English side has competed at the Club World Cup with those teams making the final on four of the previous five occasions.

Chelsea have lost just one of their last 15 games in all competitions with that defeat coming against Manchester City earlier this year. The Blues are priced at 2/9 to defeat Al Hilal in 90 minutes on Wednesday. Cesar Azpilicueta is the only remaining Chelsea player from their last Club World Cup appearance in 2012 and the Chelsea skipper will be hoping they can go all the way and add another trophy to his stunning collection.

On Sunday, Al Hilal became just the second side to score six goals in a single Club World Cup game and they are a side to keep a close eye on as they head into this fixture. Although they are heavy 10/1 underdogs for Wednesday’s game, their side features a handful of ex-Premier League players who are well accustomed to playing against Chelsea.

Odion Ighalo faced Chelsea on numerous occasions for Watford and Manchester United but Ighalo has made more appearances in all competitions without scoring against Chelsea (6) than he did against any other opponent. His attacking partner Matheus Pereira still gives Chelsea fans nightmares after he scored a brace for West Brom against the Blues in a 5-2 victory last season.

Could we be in for a shock in Abu Dhabi?

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