Club World Cup Best Bets for Chelsea vs. PSG Final
Chelsea vs. PSG – PSG -1 Asian Handicap +100
After 62 games which saw teams from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and South America do battle, it is as we expected for the showpiece final on Sunday. One of two European sides will lift the trophy and bank a far from insignificant wedge of cash!
Chelsea was the first to book their place in New Jersey, surviving a couple of scares but ultimately beating Fluminense 2-0 deservedly. New $75 million signing Joao Pedro was the star of the show, superbly firing in both goals. He will certainly be one to watch this weekend.
The English side will have the daunting task of trying to prevent PSG from collecting an incredible fourth major trophy of 2025. The traders are finally putting some respect on the Parisians’ name, plus money quotes to beat Bayern Munich, as tipped in my last column here, and Real Madrid are replaced with a best-priced -150.
Given what we have seen so far, I make that about right, but we can still get Luis Enrique’s men onside at +100, and as long as they win, we won’t lose. I can’t put you off backing the win to nil at +210, given all five victories in this competition and their last seven in total have come without conceding a goal.
However, the bet I am putting up officially is PSG -1 Asian Handicap, meaning a winning margin of two or more goals cashes the ticket, with a single goal victory, resulting in a refund of our stake.
The French champions were at their dominant best in their semi-final against Real Madrid, bamboozling their opponents with lightning-fast passing sequences, razor-sharp forward thrusts and clinical finishing. They latched on to two defensive errors to take a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes and never looked back, scoring a third on 24 minutes that was a thing of absolute beauty.
Not only are they free-flowing and relentless in attack, but they also fight like tigers to win the ball back when the opponents dare borrow it for a moment. Their rotations are a joy to watch as their in-game cohesion constantly creates space for some of the best forwards on the planet.
Coming into this tournament, the only doubt about them was whether there would be a drop off after crushing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final at the end of May. We have had a resounding answer. Atletico Madrid were swept aside 4-0 in their tournament opener, and light work was made of what many thought a route of hell to the final, beating Bayern Munich 2-0, despite two late red cards, and then the 4-0 thrashing of Real.
In my opinion, PSG is clearly the best team in the world, and they get to make it official on Sunday. I can’t see Chelsea stopping them. The Blues made the most of being in the easier half of the draw and have had few dramas in making the showpiece final.
However, talisman Cole Palmer is still not quite at his best, looking in need of a break ahead of the new Premier League season. Enzo Maresca has made slight tweaks to an evolving squad along the way, giving new signings game time, but this massive step up in class from what they have faced so far will be a bridge too far.
My second selection is in the player to score or assist market and that player is Ousmane Dembélé. At the time of writing his price is -129 if that price has gone or you can’t bet the market when you read this, swap it out for Dembele to score at +120.
I am expecting a huge game from the -500 favorite to win the Ballon d’Or a player who looked in lethal form against the Spaniards in the semi-final. He roamed all over the pitch, dropping deep, pulling out wide but regularly managing to find space, he never gave the Madrid defense a second’s rest.
Dembélé set the tone by stealing the ball off a hesitant Raúl Asencio in the 6th minute to assist the opener, then harried Antonio Rüdiger into giving him the ball to slot home the second goal three minutes later. He was also involved in the build-up to the third goal.
The 28-year-old has had the season of his life scoring 34 times for PSG across all competitions as well as providing 14 assists. He will be determined to sign off in style.
The final piece to this jigsaw is that Dembélé will be one of the freshest players on show. Injury kept him out of the group games before a total of 50 minutes from cameo appearances against Inter Miami and Bayern Munich. This game will be played in searing heat at the MetLife stadium and after a long season and tournament in testing conditions that extra enforced rest could be crucial for the French international.
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