It will be Al-Hilal vs Chelsea at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the semi finals of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup tournament in Abu Dhabi.
The Champions of Europe meet the champions of Asia to battle it out for a spot in the Club World Cup finals.
Chelsea will be aiming to build on their FA Cup fourth round victory over Plymouth Argyle during the weekend.
The keenly contested match ended in a 1-1 draw in regular time before the Blues managed to score the second goal in extra time to seal the win.
Chelsea will be participating in their second Club World Cup competition in their history. They first entered the competition in 2012 after defeating Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties in the Champions League final at the Allianz Arena.
The Blues, however, failed to win that edition after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Corinthians in the final. Surprisingly, that defeat is still the only occasion across the last 14 Club World Cup editions that a UEFA-zone entrant has failed to lift the trophy.
This time around, they will be aiming to win their third trophy under Thomas Tuchel since taking over at the club in January 2020.
Al-Hilal on the other hand, first qualified for the competition in 2019 as the representative of the AFC-zone. This is their second outing which has so far gone well after beating AJazira 6-1 in the quarter finals.
Al-Hilal and Chelsea meet each other for the first time in history and both clubs will be aiming to showcase their prowess on Wednesday February 9, 2022.
Chelsea will be without head coach Tuchel who tested positive for covid-19, which means they will be managed by assistant coach, Michel Arnos.
Chelsea are considered favourites to win this encounter but Al-Hilal cannot be underrated because they are valued as the most expensive club in Saudi Arabia with a total squad worth of over $71 million.
The warm weather could also come in favour of Al-Hilal against Chelsea compared to the harsh winter weather of London.
However, their chances don’t look so good as European clubs have kept a clean sheet in four of their last six Club World Cup semi-finals against AFC-zone opponents.
Players to miss Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Chelsea: Ben Chilwell (injury), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (injury), Hakim Ziyech (minor knock against Plymouth but may still be available), Mason Mount (doubtful), Cesar Azpilicueta (doubtful), Edouard Mendy (out due to the just concluded AFCON).
Players to watch out for Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Odion Ighalo, Hakim Ziyech
Verdict of Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Al-Hilal 1-3 Chelsea
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