Chelsea v LAFC: Back Blues' opener to feature goals | OneFootball

Chelsea v LAFCLive on DAZN

Chelsea keen to ride the wave

Enzo Maresca's Chelsea didn't always convince last season, but they achieved the primary objectives, finishing in a Champions League spot and winning the Conference League. Winning the expanded Club World Cup might silence the critics and indeed the Blues fans who still have reservations about tactics and the recruitment policy. Italian boss Maresca says he has learned a lot about his players, and was impressed by how they dealt with a mid-season slump that threatened to derail their campaign.

Free-spending Chelsea have been typically active in the short transfer window. Burly striker Liam Delap has been recruited from Ipswich after a promising Premier League campaign, young defender Mamadou Sarr has come in from sister club Strasbourg, and Sporting midfielder Dario Essugo has also been snapped up.

Chelsea also have their existing big hitters available. Cole Palmer delivered a match-winning display against Betis in the Conference League final, while Nicolas Jackson finished the season by scoring five goals in his last five competitive games.

Maresca's men finished the campaign with a run of eight wins in nine, and as such they are one of the most in-form sides in this competition. Failure to at least reach the last 16 of this competition would be a major surprise.

Chelsea chose not to call up any of the players they had out on loan, and they are expected to field a strong team here, with Jackson, Madueke and Palmer in the starting XI. Ukrainian winger Mihaylo Mudryk is still serving a suspension after failing a drugs test.

LAFC feature ghosts from Chelsea's past

Although they won a bigger trophy than Inter Miami did in the US last season, LAFC wouldn't have gotten to the Club World Cup if Mexican side Leon hadn't been thrown out because of multi-club restrictions. As it was, Steve Cherundolo's men won a playoff against Club America to stamp their ticket.

The US Open Cup winners will feature players who Chelsea fans know well. Oliver Giroud spent three years as a Chelsea striker, winning the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League. While Giroud is an old friend, his fellow Frenchman Hugo Lloris faced Chelsea many times as the Tottenham keeper.

After a poor start to the campaign, LAFC are on the charge. They are unbeaten in their last ten competitive games, racking up five wins and five draws in that spell. They have scored at least twice in all ten of those matches.

Former Saint Etienne striker Denis Bouanga has been a goal machine since arriving in California, and he has eight goals in his last nine MLS games. He also netted the opener in the all-important win over Club America.

On-loan Celtic midfielder Odin Holm is struggling with injury, but it's largely a fit squad for former USMNT defender Cherundolo to choose from.

Back both teams to light up the scoreboard

Both Teams To Score seems generously priced here at evens. Chelsea have scored in 11 of their last 12 games, while LAFC are flying in front of goal, and a BTTS bet has landed in 12 of their last 18 matches.

Keep an eye out for Build Ups

There is a huge array of markets available for this match, with our new Build Ups feature worth checking out closer to kick-off. Build-Ups allows you to pit individual players against each other, so if you think LAFC's Denis Bouanga might have more shots than Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson, that's an outcome you can back.

Since joining LAFC, Bouanga has averaged well over four shots per 90 in MLS, and this season his average is nearly five. Obviously he is facing a higher quality of opposition than usual, but he is a front-foot player who is full of confidence.

Conversely, Jackson hasn't had more than two shots in a game since the match against Ipswich Town back in mid-April.

Check the team news, and if both start, back Bouanga to have more shots than Jackson.