It’s Group D favourites Chelsea up next as we continue our FIFA Club World Cup Fantasy 2025 team previews.
Most of you won’t need any introduction to Enzo Maresca’s side but we thought we’d ask our resident Blue, Tom J, for his thoughts on last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League winners.
Chelsea: Overview
How will Chelsea line up without Jackson? 2
Having qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup thanks to winning the 2021 UEFA Champions League, Chelsea take their place as one of two Premier League sides in the competition. Manchester City are the other.
The Blues have twice before played in the Club World Cup prior to this summer’s tournament.
Under Rafa Benitez, they lost to Corinthians in the 2012 final. They finally added the trophy to the Stamford Bridge cabinet in 2021 with Thomas Tuchel in charge.
Focusing on the here and now, Chelsea come into the tournament off the back of a strong end to 2024/25. Enzo Maresca’s side won eight of their last nine matches, securing fourth place in the Premier League and winning the UEFA Conference League.
Since that memorable night in Wroclaw, Chelsea have secured the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town. The Englishman has taken the number nine shirt in an early show of intent.
At the time of writing, the club are locked in talks over left-winger Jamie Gittens and goalkeeper Mike Maignon. On the outgoing side, Jadon Sancho will not feature this summer as Chelsea have opted not to sign him permanently.
Two new faces that will feature in the tournament are Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo, both young midfielders touted as Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo back-ups respectively.
With Maresca’s side being strong favourites to win Group D, it remains to be seen how strong Chelsea will go in the group stage. However, with Benfica in the last 16 and potentially PSG in the quarter-finals, expect the line-up to strengthen as the tournament goes on.
Group Fixtures
Chelsea World Cup
Bookies Predictions
To Qualify To Win Group
ES Tunis 10.5% 2.2%
Flamengo 67.3% 27.7%
Chelsea 82.5% 57.2%
LAFC 39.7% 12.9%
League Top Scorers
Cole Palmer ($9.6m, MID) – 15
Nicolas Jackson ($7.4m, FWD) – 10
Noni Madueke ($6.5m, MID) – 7
League Top Assist-Makers (inc. FPL assists):
Cole Palmer ($9.6m, MID) – 10
Enzo Fernandez ($6.2m, MID) – 8
Nicolas Jackson ($7.4m, FWD) – 6
Pedro Neto ($6.5m, MID) – 6
Set-Piece Takers
Penalties
Cole Palmer ($9.6m, MID)
Chelsea’s talisman is the undisputed first-choice penalty taker for the Blues, having missed just one of his 15 professional spot-kicks.
Noni Madueke, Enzo Fernandez and Christopher Nkunku have all scored from the spot in the last two seasons. Liam Delap may also join the debate, should Palmer be off the pitch.
Corners + Indirect Free Kicks
Pedro Neto ($6.5m, MID)
Enzo Fernandez ($6.2m, MID)
Cole Palmer ($9.6m, MID)
Palmer and Fernandez took 75 and 74 corners respectively during the course of the regular season.
Palmer was less involved as the season went on, however, taking only four in his final 10 appearances.
Top Fantasy Picks
Cole Palmer ($9.6m) – MID
Palmer is undoubtedly the standout Fantasy asset with which to target Chelsea’s kind group stage fixtures.
In FPL 2024/25, the Englishman finished up on 214 points with 15 and 10 assists, a tally only bettered by Mohamed Salah and Bryan Mbeumo.
Despite a quiet second half of the season, Palmer delivered a man-of-the-match performance in the UEFA Conference League thanks to two stunning assists.
Palmer’s underlying data during the league season demonstrates his Fantasy appeal. His total of 24 big chances created ranked second among all FPL midfielders, while his tally of 23 big chances ranked third.
His xGI tally of 26.41 was nearly double that of the nearest Chelsea attacker (Nicolas Jackson’s effort of 14.26).
Marc Cucurella ($5.8m) – DEF
Cucurella was unquestionably the stand-out Chelsea defender in Fantasy 2024/25, finishing the season with 133 points, thanks to five goals, two assists and nine clean sheets.
Among his fellow Chelsea defenders, Cucurella ranked top for shots (24), penalty box touches (76) and xGI (5.19) during the season.
No defender scored more goals in the Premier League, while the Spaniard also found the net twice in European competition.
As a team, Chelsea’s defensive fortunes improved significantly as the season went on, keeping five clean sheets in their final nine league matches.
The Blues ended the season fifth best for xGC (47.97).
Liam Delap (N/A) – FWD
Chelsea’s new number nine enjoyed a solid debut season in the Premier League for Ipswich Town, scoring 12 goals in 32 starts.
Delap, who is yet to be priced up and added to FIFA’s game, worked with Maresca during his time in the Manchester City academy. The Englishman also enjoys a close relationship with Cole Palmer.
Favourable matches against LAFC and ES Tunis should provide the perfect opportunity for Delap to ease into his Chelsea career with a couple of goals.
Finally, a shout out to Andrey Santos (N/A) and Kendry Paez ($4.0m – MID). The former scored 10 league goals on loan at Strasbourg and recently made his Brazil debut. He should see plenty of minutes with Caicedo and Fernandez due a rest at some stage.
Paez is an exceptionally rated 18-year-old, who registered 10 goal involvements in Ecuador’s Liga Pro last season and is fighting for a place in Chelsea’s 2025/26 squad.
Early Predicted XI
The predicted XI pictured above is the team that ended the 2024/25 campaign as first choice, with Liam Delap replacing Nicolas Jackson.
At this point, it’s impossible to predict the XI game-to-game with multiple players for each position, loan players returning, potential new signings and heavy rotation expected.
Club World Cup 2025 Fantasy complete guide: Best players, tips, team reveals + more