Sports

Flamengo v Chelsea: lineup, statistics, preview


Chelsea clashes into the Club World Cup, backed by the fact that they have two strikers to ultimately call out two out-of-strikers.

Nicholas Jackson was their only option last season, but the combination of injury and suspension limited the impact the Senegal forward had at Stamford Bridge. His regular absence meant that boss Enzo Maresca had to use a variety of options, including Christopher Nukank, Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer, as fake nines.

Chelsea strengthened their team by signing Liam Dellup from Ipswich earlier this month, and the PFA Young Player of the Year nomination made a positive impression with their debut 2-0 defeating LAFC on Monday evening.

Jackson and Dellup ended with assists with the Californians. Jackson’s clever turn and pass came out of the bench with Delap coming out of the bench and Enzo Fernandez supplying a cross to seal the three points.

“Both are very good nines and I hope we can both score goals and get assists if possible,” Maresca said. “I prefer four or five players with 40 goals, each with one striker scoring 40 goals, or four or five players with 12 goals, Enzo scored again.

“Last year we tried to use different threats, different weapons, and we had a few months without Nico and Mark (GUIU).

“We tried to find different solutions, but certainly when we have two strikers like Nico and Liam, that’s a great feeling as a head coach.

“You know you can choose one of them, and that would be a good choice.”

From full-time to Fernandez’s goal in 11 minutes, the MLS side still appeared in the game, and Chelsea’s sailing against LAFC wasn’t always smooth.

And Flamengo needs to present a great Starner test.

They are managed by former Chelsea fullback Fili Peruwis. The Brazilian defeated Esperance 2-0 on their first outing thanks to goals from Luiz Araujo and Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

Gorguinho makes his debut for Flamengo against the Tunisian side and is expected to oppose the former Philadelphia club.

Looking for his opinion on the game, the experienced midfielder believes it could come down to more detailed details. He said: “I believe that the game is always something like that (the ups and downs), especially big, and there are two teams that want to control their opponents.

“We have to prepare to run and to suffer. It happens, so we have to prepare when we control, because this happens too. It can be a great game for the viewer. With these great games, it makes a difference.

Flamengo v Chelsea team news

Delap may come to give Jackson the opportunity to give Maresca a reputation for both. Trevoh Chalobah could be lined up to replace Tosin Adarabioyo.

De La Cruz and Alex Sandro are back in full training and can get started. Both Araujo and De Arrascaeta missed training on Wednesday, but are expected to be appropriate.



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