FIFA Club World Cup semi-final preview: Al Hilal will fancy chances against depleted Chelsea in Abu Dhabi

Dubai: European Champions Chelsea are in action tonight against Asian Champions Al Hilal in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup and we should be in for a real treat.

With both sides aiming to book a spot in the final on Saturday 12 February they’ll be going all guns blazing at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Chelsea favourites

Everyone is favouring Chelsea to cruise to the final but we could be in for an upset if we go by recent form. Many felt the English Premier League giants would blow lowly Plymouth Argyle away in the FA Cup fourth round last weekend but they required extra time to scrape past the League One side who also missed a penalty which could have taken the tie to a shootout. The Blues have also been stuttering in the league and are currently in third place and 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City. They were also beaten recently by Pep Guardiola’s side before being held by Brighton so they’ve been patchy at best lately.

Perhaps the FIFA Club World Cup can act as a welcome distraction and the time away together here in the UAE will help build a bit of team spirit before they jet back to England and try to claw their way back into the title race.

They certainly will not want to suffer any injuries while in the capital - they have already gone a long period without their main striker Romelu Lukaku which coincided with their dip in form. The Belgian international is expected to feature in the team tonight against the Saudi Arabian club but the Blues will need to be wary of their opponents.

40 coaches

The Riyadh club have enjoyed plenty of success since their formation in 1957, winning 50 domestic trophies including a record 17 Saudi Professional League titles while on the continental stage they have been crowned champions of Asia a record four times. And remarkably they have had plenty of success since the turn of the millennium in spite of regular managerial changes. Almost 40 coaches have guided the team since the year 2000 and current boss Leonardo Jardim will have been boosted by the last performance, a 6-1 drubbing of the UAE Pro League champions Al Jazira. Familiar names Odion Ighalo (formerly of Watford and Manchester United) and £20 million-man Matheus Pereira (formerly of West Brom) were both on the scoresheet and Chelsea will need to keep a close eye on the attacking pair tonight.

Like Chelsea, Al Hilal are making their second appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup and will want to go one better than 2019 where they were knocked out in the semis by Flamengo while the Blues made it to the 2012 final but were beaten by Corinthians.

Chelsea will be without Ben Chilwell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Édouard Mendy and even coach Thomas Tuchel who did not travel with the squad after testing positive for COVID-19, meaning this could be a tough night for the Londoners.