Fifa Club World Cup Final Preview

The first edition of the new-look FIFA Club World Cup tournament reaches its finale on Sunday as Paris Saint-Germain take on Chelsea in the final in New Jersey. The Ligue 1 and Champions League winners are looking to end a sensational season on a high note after demolishing Real Madrid in the second semi-final, while the Blues are flying the flag for the Premier League after their 2-0 win over Fluminense.

The big match kicks off at 8pm BST on Sunday, July 13th, and will be broadcast live on Channel 5 and DAZN in the UK.

Tip 1 – Paris Saint-Germain to win @ 8/13 with William Hill

Neither Paris Saint-Germain nor Chelsea have had a perfect route to the final of the Club World Cup and in fact they have something in common as they both lost to Brazilian teams in their second group matches but have otherwise been untroubled. PSG still managed to top Group B despite losing 1-0 to Botafogo and have since scored 10 goals without conceding in knockout-stage wins over Inter Miami, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Chelsea lost 3-1 to Flamengo in their second match in the United States, finishing second to the Brazilian side in Group D, but have since taken advantage of a relatively helpful draw by beating Benfica, Palmeiras and Fluminense to make the final. The global nature of the tournament is demonstrated by Benfica being the only European side Chelsea have faced in the competition so far, and they could find the step up in class against a rampant PSG team too difficult.

It has been a promising summer show by Enzo Maresca’s team after they finished only fourth in the Premier League last season but they have again done well on the world stage after winning the seven-team version of this competition in 2021. They took another step forward with Joao Pedro’s arrival from Brighton as he scored both their goals in the semi-final in his first start for the London club, but PSG look to have too many weapons at their disposal.

Tip 2 – Ousmane Dembele anytime goalscorer @ 6/5 with BoyleSports

Like Chelsea, PSG have grown stronger as the tournament has gone on and head coach Luis Enrique will have been delighted that star striker Ousmane Dembele was able to start for the first time in the tournament against Real. Dembele had made substitute appearances in the previous two rounds after PSG negotiated the group stage without their top scorer as he rehabilitated a quadriceps injury sustained on international duty with France. 

He netted a late goal against Bayern after coming off the bench in the quarter-finals and struck much earlier in the semi-final, scoring his team’s second goal against Madrid after just nine minutes. In this kind of form and with a star-studded supporting cast including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue, the goals should continue to flow and he looks a great anytime goalscorer option for the final.

Tip 3 – Paris Saint-Germain to win 4-1 correct score @ 20/1 with Bet365

For a big-priced selection on the match, consider a 4-1 win for the French champions. PSG have scored 16 goals in this competition, including scoring four times against Atletico Madrid in their group and against Inter Miami and Real Madrid in the knockout rounds. 

That followed their stunning 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, and they had shown a fondness for facing Premier League teams in that competition as they knocked out Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in successive rounds. Chelsea’s heads dropped a little when they were beaten 3-1 by Flamengo in their second group game and PSG are likely to show no mercy if that happens again.