'Chelsea are the team to beat' - Goal.com experts give their lowdown on the Club World Cup final four

'Chelsea are the team to beat' - Goal.com experts give their lowdown on the Club World Cup final four

Dec 12, 2012 11:00:00 AM

The tournament in Japan is now reaching the latter stages as the race to be crowned world champions hots up. We review the final sides left battling it out for the silverware

The Fifa Club World Cup is underway, leaving the four semi-finalists slugging it out for the increasingly reputable title. With Chelsea, Corinthians, Monterrey and Al-Ahly competing for the crown, there is no other club competition able to draw from such a global selection of clubs.

Hosted in Japan, Chelsea are present on account of their dramatic Champions League victory under Roberto Di Matteo.

This time though, in their Club World Cup debut, Rafa Benitez will lead the Blues as he aims to become the first manager to win two separate titles with two different clubs. Oscar is the one Chelsea first-team player to have played in the tournament before, but he experienced disappointment in 2010 with Internacional as they surprisingly fell to TP Mazemba in the semi-finals.

The Stamford Bridge club face Monterrey, the Mexican winners of the CONCACAF Champions League. Though their prospects seem slim up against the multi-millionaires of Chelsea, they boast a striker capable of killing off any side in Humberto Suazo.

In the other side of the draw, Egyptian powerhouses Al-Ahly arrive with an African Champions League title on their CV. Many of the squad draw their experience as the Egyptian African Nations winners of 2006, 2008 and 2010, including Mohamed Aboutrika, their battle-hardened 34-year-old midfielder.

They face Corinthians, who arrive as the much-feted Copa Libertadores champions and are predicted to meet Chelsea in the final. With Paulinho in midfield and Emerson leading the line, the Brazilian outfit promise to be competitive.

Goal.com cobbled together the experts to take a more in-depth view of each side. Joao Venturi casts his eye over Corinthians, while Jonathan Wilson puts a case forward for Al-Ahly. In the other side of the draw Peter Staunton assesses Chelsea's chances, while Martin Langer analyses the prospects of Monterrey.

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