Who: Chelsea vs. Monterrey
What: FIFA Club World Cup semifinal
Where: International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan
When: Thursday, December 13, 2012
Time: 10:30 a.m. GMT
Defending Champions of the UEFA Champions league, Chelsea, are all set to make their debut in the 9th edition of the Club World Cup Tournament. Though making the wrong kind of history as the first UEFA Champions League to be eliminated in the group stage the following year,The Blues enter the tournament as favorites.
Monterrey on the other hand are the CONCACAF Champions League winners and also of the Mexico Primera Division. This game will not be their debut as they entered the tournament at the quarter final stage and after defeating Asian Champions League holders Ulsan Hyundai 3-1, they now have earned a show down against Chelsea.
Chelsea :
Captain,Leader,Legend of Chelsea, John Terry will not be taking part in the tournament due to injury. But the good news for them is that their other legend, their vice captain, Frank Lampard has just recovered from his 2 month absence and came off the bench in their 3-1 win over Sunderland last weekend. He might not start today and could be saved for the finals but we can see him make another appearance from the bench.
The rest of the team looks solid on paper. Their main concern for most parts of the season, Fernando Torres has hit form at the right time. With 4 goals and 1 assist in his last 2 matches for the club, he looks to be back in form and the fans could thank Rafa at least for one thing now.
Mata and Hazard will be their main threats either ways and are Chelsea’s men to watch. Moses and Oscar will fight out for the last spot and Ramires and Mikel round up the midfield.
And Terry is their only absentee from the back line and overall the Blues should do well in the tournament.
Apart from Terry, Romeu and Sturridge are also injured for Chelsea.
Monterrey :
If any neutral fan or a supporter of Chelsea should underestimate Monterrey’s potential, then they’re certainly in for a surprise. They proved to the world why they deserve to be here after a comfortable 3-1 victory over Ulsan in the quarters.
Their main threat comes from Cesar Delgardo and Neri Cardozo, the latter scored twice in that 3-1 victory.
Neri CardozoCarona is their midfield maestro and his battle with Mikel will be a key one.
Hiram MIER and Sergio PEREZ are their strikers and always a threat.
Prediction :
Chelsea 2-0. It should be a close game but Chelsea should come out on top. They will be forced to work hard in all areas but considering the confidence with which they enter the tournament, they should win this game.