Club World Cup

2025-07-13 - Chelsea vs Paris Saint-Germain

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Chelsea v Paris Saint-Germain
Football: FIFA Club World Cup Final
Sunday 13th July 2025 - Kick Off 3pm (8pm British Time)
This game is live on TV

Chelsea

Finishing second in the Group Stage felt like a blessing in disguise with the top half of the Knock Out Bracket looking the 'easier' path and Chelsea were helped by Benfica upsetting Bayern Munich in another Group. And just like that, Chelsea have forced their way through to the Club World Cup Final with Enzo Maresca strengthening his reputation and the club enjoying a financial windfall.

The money has to be on the mind of those in upper management considering the loopholes Chelsea have already been exploiting to stay within the PSR rules set up, but for the team it is silverware and the chance to have some real momentum to take into the Premier League season. A relatively short break is coming up for Chelsea with the Club World Cup Final taking place just a month before they play Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the Premier League, but the players will want to leave it all on the field on Sunday.

Chelsea were beaten by Flamengo in the Group Stage and not many would have backed them to reach the Final of this competition at that stage, but they have been strong in the Knock Out Rounds. Extra Time was needed to beat Benfica, but Chelsea were the better team on the day and they deserved their victories over Palmeiras and Fluminense in the last couple of Rounds.

Levi Colwell and Liam Delap missed that game through suspension, but the latter is going to do well to move Joao Pedro out of the team after the two goals scored in the Semi Final. There is a concern about the fitness of Moises Caicedo.

Paris Saint-Germain

Winning the Champions League in late May and finally ending the long wait for success in that competition will have filled Paris Saint-Germain with pride. There will have been some questions as to how the players would treat the Club World Cup with the biggest prize already secured, but Luis Enrique has a firm grip of this squad and the motivation remains extremely high.

One upset aside in the Group Stage, Paris Saint-Germain have looked every bit the European Champions that they are in their time spent in the United States. They have been performing with a lot of belief in what they are doing, while the manager has displayed the strength on the bench by being able to bring on players to make a real impact on matches.

Paris Saint-Germain were beaten by Botafogo in the Group Stage, but still topped their section and they have rarely looked troubled in the Knock Out Rounds. Comfortable wins over Inter Miami, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have impressed all who have tuned in and Paris Saint-Germain have also thumped Atletico Madrid in this tournament.

William Pacho and Lucas Hernandez are suspended for the European Champions.

Head to Head

Paris Saint-Germain beat Chelsea in both Legs in the Last 16 of the Champions League in the 2015/16 season.

This has pushed PSG's unbeaten run to 4 games against this English Premier League club.

Prediction

There will be some who feel that Paris Saint-Germain have peaked with their crushing win over Real Madrid in the Semi Final, while having one day fewer to prepare for the Club World Cup Final may also be a factor.

However, it is very hard to look past the Champions League Winners with the strength of depth they have displayed and with the hunger the players continue to perform with. Luis Enrique deserves credit for that and it will be tough for a young Chelsea team to match the qualities of Paris Saint-Germain.

Moises Caicedo would be a big miss for Chelsea, who have not been nearly as tested by the quality of opponents faced in the Knock Out Rounds compared with Paris Saint-Germain.

So while some may feel that PSG have peaked, you do have to wonder how Chelsea will cope with a big step upwards in terms of level of opponent.

Paris Saint-Germain will not be intimidated by this English Premier League club having beaten Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in the Champions League this season. They did suffer losses to Liverpool and Aston Villa in one of the two Legs played, and to Arsenal in the League Phase, but Paris Saint-Germain won 5 of the 8 fixtures played and the attacking threat they bring into this Final is hard to ignore.

Momentum is with Luis Enrique's team and they can wind down the 2024/25 season by adding World Champions to the European Champions tag they earned in May.