2025 FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16: Benfica vs Chelsea Preview, Team News and Prediction

Previewing the penultimate Round of 16 clash at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup: Benfica vs Chelsea – prediction and analysis.

Benfica vs Chelsea: Preview

Conventional wisdom suggests that finishing top of your group should secure an easier fixture in the first knockout round. However, instead of facing Flamengo—a matchup they’d likely have been favoured in—Benfica now find themselves underdogs against Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

That said, Benfica will back themselves to pull off another surprise, much like they did on Tuesday with a gritty 1-0 triumph over Bayern Munich at the same venue.

Their track record against English clubs doesn’t inspire much confidence, though. The last time they defeated a Premier League side was back in March 2014, when they beat Tottenham 3-1. Since then, they’ve failed to win in seven meetings with English opposition (D3 L4).

Chelsea, despite a group-stage loss to Flamengo that forced them to settle for second place, are in impressive form overall. After a difficult spell between December 22 and February 22—when they won just three of 12 games (D3 L6)—the Blues have bounced back emphatically, winning 16 of their last 22 matches across all competitions (D2 L4). They’ve scored 38 goals and kept 12 clean sheets during that run.

Historically, Chelsea also hold a perfect record against Benfica. They defeated the Portuguese side in both legs of the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and later secured a 2-1 victory in the 2013 UEFA Europa League final. While those wins came over a decade ago, they still add psychological weight ahead of this clash.

Still, Benfica can take confidence from their strong record in the last-16 stage of international competitions over the past 15 years. Out of 12 appearances at this point, they’ve advanced in 10, although one of their rare exits came earlier this year when they were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona (4-1 on aggregate).

If they are to engineer another upset, it will likely require another commanding performance from veteran centre-back Nicolás Otamendi.

The experienced Argentine defender has been a rock at the heart of Benfica’s defence throughout the tournament. He led all players in Group C with 29 duels won and boasts the highest duel success rate (80.6%, 29 out of 36) of any player in the competition to have contested at least 18 duels.

On the opposite side, another Argentine could play a pivotal role for Chelsea. Former Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernández was instrumental in the Blues’ 3-0 victory over Espérance, contributing two assists. That takes his tally to 16 under Maresca—more than any other Chelsea player during the manager’s tenure.

Benfica vs Chelsea: Head-to-Head

• Benfica Won – 0
• Chelsea Won – 3
• Draws – 0

Benfica vs Chelsea: Recent Form

• Benfica – DWW
• Chelsea – WLW

Benfica vs Chelsea: Team News and Predicted Lineup

Benfica – Team News

SL Benfica secured first place in Group C by defeating FC Bayern München 1-0, while Chelsea FC advanced to the knockout stage as runners-up in Group D after a convincing 3-0 win over Espérance.

Benfica head coach Bruno Lage will welcome back left-back Alvaro Carreras and striker Andrea Belotti for the upcoming match. Carreras missed the Bayern game due to yellow card accumulation, and Belotti was sidelined for two matches following a red card in Benfica’s 2-2 draw against CA Boca Juniors in their tournament opener.

Benfica – Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)

• Goalkeeper – Trubin
• Defenders – Barreiro, Silva, Otamendi (c), Carreras
• Midfielders – Renato Sanches, Aursnes, Prestianni
• Forwards – Di Maria,, Akturkoglu, Pavlidis

Chelsea – Team News

Chelsea remain without striker Nicolas Jackson, who faces a one-match suspension following his red card in the 3-1 loss to CR Flamengo.

Chelsea – Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)

• Goalkeeper – Sanchez
• Defenders – James (c), Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella
• Midfielders – Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer
• Forwards – Neto, Delap, Madueke

Benfica vs Chelsea: Prediction

If Chelsea repeat their lackluster second-half performance from last week’s loss to Flamengo, they could face a tough challenge against a confident Benfica side eager to cause another upset after their win over Bayern.

A tight contest is likely in Charlotte, but if Maresca fields a strong lineup and the Blues regain their attacking rhythm, they should have enough quality to overcome their Portuguese opponents and advance to the quarter-finals.

Score Prediction: Benfica 1-2 Chelsea

When and Where to Watch Benfica vs Chelsea LIVE? Broadcast and Streaming Details

The 2025 Club World Cup Round of 16 match between Benfica and Chelsea is set to begin at 1:30 PM IST on Sunday, June 29, at the Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte. The match will be available for live streaming on DAZN for FREE.

Benfica vs Chelsea: Squads

Benfica

Anatoliy Trubin, Álvaro Carreras, António Silva, Fredrik Aursnes, Orkun Kökçü, Ángel Di María, Vangelis Pavlidis, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Leandro Barreiro, Andrea Belotti, Andreas Schjelderup, Gianluca Prestianni, Samuel Dahl, Bruma, Nicolás Otamendi, Tiago Gouveia, Diogo Ferreira, Rui Silva, Florentino Luís, Gonçalo Oliveira, Joshua Wynder, João Veloso, Leandro Santos, André Gomes, Adrian Bajrami, Rafael Luís, João Rego, Renato Sanches, Diogo Prioste, Eduardo Fernandes

Head Coach: Bruno Lage

Chelsea

Robert Sánchez, Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoît Badiashile, Levi Colwill, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández, Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Filip Jörgensen, Dário Essugo, Nicolas Jackson, Andrey Santos, Christopher Nkunku, Mamadou Sarr, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, Malo Gusto, Aarón Anselmino, Tyrique George, Josh Acheampong, Marc Guiu, Mike Penders, Gabriel Slonina, Roméo Lavia.

Head Coach: Enzo Maresca

Read More: FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16: Complete Fixtures Guide with Real Madrid vs Juventus Showdown

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