Chelsea vs Los Angeles predictions: Blues can assert their authority
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- Chelsea aiming to repeat Club World Cup success of three years ago
- Los Angeles were the final team to qualify after winning a play-off against Mexican side Club America
- Recommended bet: Over 2.5 Chelsea goals
It has already been a decent season for Chelsea after they won the UEFA Conference League with a 4-1 success over Real Betis in the final, and secured a place in next year's UEFA Champions League via their fourth-place finish in the Premier League.
So a strong performance at the Club World Cup, which they won three years ago, would be a bonus and Enzo Maresca’s team will be confident they can see their way past Major League Soccer outfit Los Angeles in their opening group game.
Team news
Chelsea will have the opportunity to blood some of their new signings with Liam Delpa, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr all bidding to be involved in the opener, although Wesley Fofana is still nursing his hamstring injury.
The Los Angeles front line is set to be led by the familiar face of former Chelsea and Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, but on-loan Celtic midfielder Odin Holm is unlikely to feature due to injury.
The stats
Both teams scored in just three of Chelsea’s final 12 Premier League matches.
Chelsea have won eight of their last nine games.
There have been over 3.5 goals in seven of Los Angeles’ last eight Major League Soccer matches.
Los Angeles have won just one of their eight MLS away games this season.
However, LA are unbeaten in their last ten matches.
Prediction
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Chelsea are hot favourites to get their Club World Cup campaign off to a winning start and they should be able to demonstrate their attacking abilities when they take on Los Angeles in Atlanta on Monday.
The Blues have had plenty to cheer this season with a victory in the UEFA Conference League and a top-four finish in the Premier League, so anything they achieve in this tournament should be a bonus.
However, that does not mean they should be taking their foot off the gas.
The Stamford Bridge outfit are already looking to the future and have made pre-tournament moves in the transfer market, so they have fresh faces, such as former Ipswich striker Liam Delap, who will be desperate to make a strong impression.
Los Angeles became the final team to qualify after they won a playoff with Mexicans Club America after their fellow Liga MX side Club Leon were banned from the tournament for breaching FIFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
The Californians are unbeaten in their last 10 games but this is a big step up in class and with LA having conceded in nine of their last 11 matches, the Londoners can have a profitable evening.
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