The first semifinal of this Club World Cup is unexpected. Not so much for Chelsea, obviously, because one could have imagined that Enzo Maresca’s team could reach this point in the competition, but for Fluminense, of course, capable of eliminating Inter and Al Hilal before reaching the penultimate stage.
Europe or the rest of the world, in a nutshell, given that the other two teams vying for a place in the final will be Real Madrid and PSG. Anyway, how it will end is not something that interests us at the moment. What interests us now is trying to figure out who might be the players who could pick up a yellow card or commit two fouls during the match. Here are our picks for the players most likely to be booked.
Fluminense-Chelsea predictions: our picks
Let’s start with the two players who offer the most guarantees in this regard within the Brazilian team. The first is Nonato, who has put behind him the caution that forced him to take it easy in recent games. The midfielder is one of the most aggressive players in midfield, the most aggressive we would dare say, so he could commit a couple of fouls.
We also expect at least two fouls from Arias, the striker who will play alongside Cano on the front line. Against Al Hilal, he made 17 tackles during the match—more than anyone else on the pitch—and also committed two fouls. He is a very mobile center forward who also has to think about defending, at least when his team is not in possession of the ball. Let’s move on to Chelsea. Enzo Fernandez is sure to start, but his position is still to be decided, as he could also play behind the lone striker. In any case, wherever he plays, he will be the one tasked with constantly attacking the opponent’s ball carrier, a player who, given his numbers this season, must be included in these choices.
We close with Malo Gusto: booked against Palmeiras—and this is already a sign—the defensive winger made 14 tackles against the other Brazilian side. A huge number. All tackles on the ground, moreover.