Chelsea will aim to be crowned Club World Cup champions for the first time in history when they face Palmeiras, hoping to redeem their 2012 final loss.
Thomas Tuchel is aiming to be in the dugout having missed the Blues’ last two games with a positive test. Assistant manager Zsolt Low and first team coach Arno Michels have been filling in during his absence.
Even without the German, Petr Cech has said Tuchel “has been involved in every planning detail before we came and he’s involved in every day now.
“They have the video calls and he can even run the team meetings before the games. There is the four-hour time difference but as soon as they can each day, [the coaching staff] speak with Thomas and they prepare together the meetings for the players and the training load.
“There is the direct contact between the coaches and the players here so they can see if the players are tired or not and it’s been working really well.”
Chelsea’s opponents will be winners of the Copa Libertadores, Palmeiras, from Sao Paulo, Brazil who beat Al Ahly 2-0 to reach the final.
The South American representatives may favour themselves after Chelsea’s semi-final performance, which ended in a narrow 1-0 win against Al-Hilal thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s tap-in.
Al-Hilal had three second-half opportunities, Kepa Arrizabalaga doing well to keep a clean sheet. Against Palmeiras, he could be kept busy again by Raphael Veiga, the danger man who slotted away a chipped pass into the bottom-left corner against Al Ahly.
Tuchel’s men will also have to contend with Palmeiras’ fast and direct interplay, overseen by
Abel Ferreira.How to watch
- Date: Saturday 12 February
- Kick off: 4.30pm
- TV Channel: Channel 4
- Live stream: All 4
Team news
Despite Kepa’s heroics in the semi-final, he could be dropped as Edouard Mendy has rejoined his teammates in training following his triumph at Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Mason Mount featured as a substitute against Al-Hilal, having suffered a minor knock during the FA Cup tie with Plymouth Argyle. The midfielder could be in line to start the final.
Long-term absentees Ben Chilwell and Reece James are still out.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/WYdefBm
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