We are now into the knockout stages of the FIFA Club World Cup, with Benfica taking on Chelsea.
Liam Delap has announced himself at the Club World Cup
Chelsea's new signing from Ipswich Town, Liam Delap, is having a breakout tournament at the Club World Cup. He came off the bench to assist Enzo Fernández in their opening game against LAFC. Delap then started against Flamengo. This ended in disappointment as the Blues lost 3-1. The striker that Delap is competing with, Nicolas Jackson, also got sent off in this match.
Jackson has not been in the best of form and was also sent off towards the end of the last Premier League season. His unreliability is boosting Delap's chances of becoming Enzo Maresca's first-choice center-forward. Delap then scored his first Chelsea goal in the Blues' victory over Espérance Sportive de Tunis.
Maresca's side finished second in Group D, which puts them on the less daunting side of the draw. If Chelsea beats Benfica, then they will play either Palmeiras or Botafogo. However, they could then face Manchester City in the semi-finals.
Benfica have impressed at the Club World Cup
The Liga Portugal is not one of Europe's top five leagues. The other Portuguese team at the Club World Cup, FC Porto, has not impressed. They drew with Palmeiras and Al Ahly, whilst losing to Inter Miami. This meant that they finished third in Group A and were eliminated.
Benfica, on the other hand, managed to top Group C and even finish above Bayern Munich. Bruno Lage's side drew with Boca Juniors in their opening game, before thrashing Auckland City 6-0. They then claimed a 1-0 victory over Bayern. However, it must be noted that Vincent Kompany did make a few changes to the Bundesliga side for that game.
The Eagles do have some notable players on their roster, such as Ángel Di María. The Argentine is playing in his final tournament for Benfica before returning to Rosario Central. They also have former Manchester City defender Nicolás Otamendi and Renato Sanches on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
Team news and predicted lineups
One possible change for Chelsea could be Tyrique George starting ahead of Noni Madueke. George impressed off the bench against ES Tunis, and Maresca has been willing to give young players a chance at the Club World Cup.
Chelsea predicted lineup: Sánchez, Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernández, Palmer, Neto, Delap, George
Benfica will likely be unchanged from the side that just defeated Bayern.
Benfica predicted lineup: Trubin, Aursnes, Otamendi, Silva, Dahl, Schjelderup, Sanches, Barreiro, Di María, Prestianni, Pavlidis
Historical context and prediction
Chelsea have played Benfica on three occasions and won all three. They beat them across in both legs of a Champions League quarter-final during the 2011/12 season. The Blues went on to win that tournament. Chelsea have also beaten Benfica in the Europa League final of the 2012/13 campaign.
Fans of the Premier League side will be hoping that playing Benfica is their lucky charm to claiming silverware. Chelsea is expected to beat Benfica, but it will be a difficult game, score prediction of a 2-0 win for the west London side.
How to watch Benfica vs. Chelsea
Benfica will take on Chelsea at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 28. The match will be streamed on DAZN.