Benfica v Chelsea: Club World Cup preview

The Club World Cup has reached the last-16 stage and from here on it will be knockout football as Benfica prepare to face Chelsea in Charlotte.

Benfica, somewhat surprisingly, topped Group C as finished ahead of German giants Bayern Munich and Argentine outfit Boca Juniors, while Chelsea were runners up in Group B after losing to eventual group winners Flamengo.

This is going to be just a fourth meeting between these giants of Portuguese and English football, with Chelsea victorious in each of the three previous meetings.

Enzo Maresca will hope that trend continues in North Carolina, but Benfica should prove a tough test for his Blues side.

All three previous meetings have only been decided by a single-goal margin, and all expectations point to this being another close one.

Benfica v Chelsea betting preview

Reds have something to prove

Benfica can be forgiven for feeling aggrieved at how things have worked out. Bruno Lage's side claimed a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in their Group C finale and beat the German giants to top spot.

They might have expected to face Brazilian outfit Flamengo at this stage but, instead, it is Premier League side Chelsea in their path after the Blues lost 3-1 to Flamengo in the decisive encounter in Group D.

Benfica will fancy their chances of causing something of an upset, just as they did on Tuesday when battling to a resilient 1-0 win over Bayern in the same stadium. They are 3.60 to win here again but Benfica haven't beaten English opposition since March 2014, with no wins in seven attempt since (D3 L4).

Benfica have scored nine goals in three games so far and have gone more than 210 minutes without conceding. Over 2.5 goals in this last-16 showdown is priced at 2.00.

Maresca's side in good nick

After swapping Leicester City for Stamford Bridge last summer, Maresca enjoyed a solid if not spectacular first season as Chelsea boss.

Since enduring a run of just three wins in 12 games between 22nd December and 22nd February (D3 L6), Chelsea have won 16 of 22 in all competitions (D2 L4), scoring 38 goals and keeping 12 clean sheets.

They overcame Real Betis last month to win the UEFA Conference League final, scoring four times in the final 25 minutes.

They came through Group D with win over Los Angeles FC and Espérance de Tunis either side of that surprise loss to Flamengo.

Chelsea are 2.10 to win this game, with talisman Cole Palmer priced at 2.62 to net his first goal of the tournament, though the England playmaker has now managed to find the net just once in his last 25 appearances for his club.

Argentines in opposition

One way or another, an Argentine could have a key role in the outcome in Charlotte.

Former Benfica star Enzo Fernandez set up two goals in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Espérance, taking him to 16 assists under Maresca, more than any of his teammates. He is priced at 3.20 to score or assist in this clash.

Meanwhile his compatriot and former Manchester City stalwart Nicolas Otamendi has excelled at the heart of Benfica's defence.

The veteran's 29 duels won was the most of any player in Group C, while his 80.6 per-cent success rate (29/36) in duels is the highest of any player in the competition.

The winner of this tie will face Brazilian opposition in the last-eight, with either Palmeiras or Botafogo to come in Philadelphia with a semi-final spot on the line.

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Benfica v Chelsea odds

Benfica – 3.70
Draw – 3.30
Chelsea – 2.10

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.