We’re down to the final four at the Club World Cup and the action begins at 3pm EST on Tuesday, July 8 between Brazil’s Fluminense and England’s Chelsea. Read on for our top Fluminense vs Chelsea picks.
Fluminense vs Chelsea Odds
| BET | ODDS |
| Fluminense | +425 |
| Draw | +270 |
| Chelsea | -143 |
| Over 2.5 | +105 |
| Under 2.5 | -134 |
Club World Cup odds at Bet365.
Fluminense vs Chelsea Head-to-Head
It’s the first-ever meeting between them.
Fluminense Preview
Brazil’s Fluminense has been one of many Brazilian teams to put on a good showing so far at the CWC. They held Dortmund to just a 0-0 draw.
In Game 2, they were frustrated by Korea’s Ulsan being down 2-1 at the half but then exploded for 3 more goals to win 4-2.
Game 3 came vs South Africa’s Mamelodi they drew 0-0 despite putting 0 shots on target.
That still saw them only concede 2 goals during the Group Stage and that strong defense continued in the Round of 16 where they pulled off a shock upset of Italy’s Inter Milan scoring early and late, in the 3′ and 93′ from Cano and Hercules to win 2-0.
That set up an unlikely quarterfinal with Al Hilal who had also pulled off an upset vs Man City. As is usually the case, Flu had less possession with 42%, less shots, shots on target and corners, but took a 1-0 lead, saw Hilal equal and then got the winner with Hercules scoring again in the 70′ for a 21- win.
With scores of 0-0, 4-2, 0-0, 2-0, and 2-1, Fluminense have mostly been an Under team at 3-2 to Under 2.5.
In Brazil’s Serie A their games have been tight being 7-4 to Under 2.5 as well.
Fluminense came into the CWC undefeated across 6 matches winning 4 in a row and scoring 2+ goals in all 4. So after Al Hilal, they’re undefeated in 11 and have kept clean sheets in 5/7 while scoring 2+ in 7/9.
Jhon Arias may only have 1G/1A but he’s always involved with shot counts of 3/1, 4/1, 2/0 and 4/2. But then last game he was kept quite with not even 1 shot attempt. Hercules has come on though in recent games as a super sub with goals in back-to-back games and shots of 1/1 and 3/1.
Chelsea Preview
Chelsea had a 2-0 Matchday 1 win, beating LAFC.
In Game 2, Chelsea scored early versus Flamengo, but Flamengo fought back and scored twice to take a 2-1 lead in the second half. Then, after Nicolas Jackson saw red, the Brazilians scored again to get the upset 3-1 win.
On Matchday 3 it was a straightforward 3-0 win over Esperance.
In the Round of 16, Chelsea met Benfica and the game was level until Reece James broke the deadlock in the 64′. It looked like that would be the only goal. But … a weather delay with a few minutes left paused things. When they finally came back, Benfica drew level with a PK in stoppage time and we were off to extra-time. With Benfica having taken a red card just before scoring the PK, they were down a man for ET. From there, it was all Chelsea scoring 3 goals for a 4-1 win.
Chelsea met Palmeiras in the quarterfinals, getting their 2nd Brazilian team in the tournament. They scored early through Cole Palmer in the 16′, saw their future player Estavao bring Palmeiras level in the 53′ and then saw an own goal in the 83′ prove to be the winner in a 2-1 outcome.
The Blues have only 2 losses in 14 and only 3 losses in 19 after the win. Chelsead led in all the stats with 63% possession, shots 19-7, shots on target 6-2 and corners 10-3.
Win or lose, you’d expect them to control the play when meeting their third Brazilian team of the tournament in the semis too. Flu have only had the possession edge vs Ulsan.
Fluminense vs Chelsea Prediction
Tons of changes on both sides will be coming here. For Chelsea, both Liam Delap and Levi Colwill are suspended. Captain Reece James was injured in warm ups last game and missed out. New signing Joao Pedro made an appearance off the bench getting 2 shots and 1 on target. And Nicolas Jackson, despite seeing his suspension ended, did not feature. But with Delap suspened, perhaps he returns to the starting lineup, but it also could be Pedro again. Whoever takes the starting spot up top can be include in a SGP for shot props. Or consider Palmar who’s gone 6/3 and 4/2 in shots/on target in his past 2 games.
Fluminense are also out some players with CB Juan Pablo Freytes and midfielder Matheus Martinelli suspended.
Brazil’s teams have beaten teams from Europe 3 total times, while losing 2 this tournament. Chelsea is 1-1 vs Brazil so far. You’d have to give the edge to Chelsea but I think it should be close.
Chelsea to win (-143) is certainly an option. Or… you could consider a safer same-game parlay considering they were minutes away from a draw vs Palmeiras until the own goal got them the win.
- FIFA Club World Cup Picks: Chelsea to score and under 3.5 (-163); ADD Plamer 1+ shot on target (+120)
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Ryan Métivier is a seasoned editor, writer and communications professional with years of experience in all fields. When it comes to covering sports, he’s written for numerous outlets and organizations including the OHL, CHL, SportsXpress, Sports Betting Dime, Cleveland.com, MassLive, FanSided and others.
While he’ll always cheer for his hometown Toronto teams, when it comes to betting, his only allegiance is his bankroll. Ryan specializes in global soccer, the NFL and the NHL, but if there is a bet to be made, he’ll make it. As the founder of Shred The Spread, Ryan focuses on combining storylines, trends, analytics and good bankroll management to creating simple bets that make sense.
When not making a case for why both teams will score in an MLS soccer match, he can be found focusing his efforts on fitness, attempting to learn Spanish, cooking or planning his travel adventure.
