Chelsea, fresh off a scare, but still a win the FA Cup fourth round, will now fly out to Abu Dhabi to begin their Club World Cup campaign. On Wednesday Feb. 9 they will face the winner of Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) vs Al Jazira (United Arab Emirates) in the semifinal round of this under the radar competition.
If they lose, they’ll end up in Saturday’s third place game, and (obviously) a win gets them into the tourney title game. Chelsea needed 120 minutes to get past Plymouth Argyle today, a team from the third tier of English football.
Club World Cup FYIs
Kick: Wed. Feb 9 vs Al SFC (The Royal Club)
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Chelsea FA Cup 5th Round Draw Analysis: go here
Next Round: Sat. Feb. 12, Match 7 (third place): Match 4 losers vs Match 5 losers
Match 8 (final),
Match 4 winners vs Match 5 winners
TV: FS2 (Seriously, there is a FOX Sports 2? Do we really need that?)
Chelsea Team News
The big news here is that Thomas Tuchel tested positive for COVID-19, just before Chelsea’s FA Cup win. Given that he will now have to follow self-isolation and testing protocols in the UK, he won’t be traveling with the rest of the team to the Middle East now.
However, there is still a possibility that he might join up with the rest of his squad for next weekend’s match. Andreas Christensen (COVID-19) and Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) have both recovered fully now and featured today in the AET triumph over Plymouth.
However, the following three players will miss out of the Club World Cup: Edouard Mendy (international duty with The Senegal in AFCON), Reece James (long term thigh injury), Ben Chilwell (out for the season with a knee injury).
Tuchel Continues Offensive Against Fixture Congestion
Hard to say whether or not Christian Pulisic will be a part of the squad. He was not in the team today, after not having returned to training yet, coming off international duty with the United States.
When asked about the absences of Pulisic and Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, Tuchel called on football’s governing bodies to lighten the load, in order to help players who feature for their respective countries.
“It’s about quantity and not quality,” Tuchel said at a news conference yesterday.
“The people want to see quality football, the quality players, and for this they need rest, not injured and healthy. We need a leaner schedule.”
Maybe Pulisic, who came off the bench and scored against Honduras on Wednesday night, won’t be going to the desert after all. Tuchel continued:
“In this one year now at Chelsea, we’ve had 67 matches or something like this. And then if you add European competitions, qualifiers for the national team players, and more, it’s immense and the effort is huge.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.