This Group D encounter of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be played between English club Chelsea FC and four-time CAF Champions League winners Esperance de Tunisie on June 25 at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia.
Here’s our preview and prediction for the game.
The Blues are second in Group D, three points behind already-qualified Flamengo, while they are level on points with Esperance de Tunisie ahead of what is shaping up to be a huge game.
Well the math is simple: Chelsea will qualify for the last-16 stage of the Club World Cup providing that they avoid defeat against Esperance de Tunisie in their final Group D battle between the two sides in Philadelphia.
The Tunisian club opened their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Flamengo, but they bounced back impressively in their previous match, recording a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC. The Red and Yellow army are currently third in Group D on three points, level with Chelsea, and they would advance to the last-16 stage of the tournament with a victory against their Premier League opponents on Friday – a draw, though, would not be enough, as Chelsea have the superior goal difference.
Maher Kanzari’s side are playing in their fourth Club World Cup finals – having previously competed in 2011, 2018 and 2019 editions – and having only lost once in all competitions since the start of April –which was the two-goal defeat against Flamengo – they will enter this game in a confident mood after their win over LAFC.
Chelsea on the other hand opened their tournament with a routine 2-0 victory against LAFC, and they looked like they were on course to take control of Group D when they took a 1-0 lead in their second match against Flamengo.
However, the Brazilians turned the game around to win 3-1, though, with Chelsea #9 Nicolas Jackson sent off in what was a very disappointing second half team performance, and Enzo Maresca’s side therefore have work to do in order to advance to the Round of 16.
As mentioned earlier, the Blues are in charge of their fate due to a superior goal difference, thus a win or a draw on Wednesday would be enough for them to advance to the next round of the competition. However, a second defeat in as many games would result in the West Londoners getting eliminated, and there would be some serious questions asked if the English side did not manage to advance into the next stage.
In terms of team news, Maher Kanzari could name an unchanged side from the one that started the game in their win against LAFC last time out, while Chelsea will be without the services of Jackson following his red card against Flamengo in the second round of fixtures – with summer arrival Liam Delap likely to slot in up front.
Looking ahead to this crucial Group D fixture, this will not be a straightforward match for Chelsea, as their Tunisian counterparts have shown they have the quality to emerge as one of the underdogs, but we are expecting Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea to navigate their way into the next round of the competition courtesy of a painful but narrow victory.
Score Prediction: Esperance de Tunisie 1-2 Chelsea FC
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
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