Matchday 6 of the FIFA Club World Cup gets underway this evening, so it’s time to finalise our Scout Picks.
Only four teams are left, allowing Fantasy managers to include up to six players from a single club.
- READ MORE: PL new signings: Where does Gittens fit into the Chelsea attack?
- READ MORE: FPL new signings: Can Joao Pedro shine at Chelsea?
CLUB WORLD CUP MATCHDAY 6 SCOUT PICKS
Chelsea are heavy favourites to reach the final of the Club World Cup, so we’re backing them with the maximum of six players.
The other semi-final, Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid, is much harder to call.
There is no distinct favourite, so we’re effectively spreading the risk, selecting four names from each side.
GOALKEEPERS
Although Chelsea’s defensive performances have been inconsistent, they are up against a Fluminense team that has failed to score in two out of their five matches at the Club World Cup.
They’ve generated just 6.04 expected goals (xG) since the start of the tournament, too, the lowest among the teams still in contention.
With that in mind, Robert Sanchez ($5.3m) is selected between the sticks.
If the Spaniard fails to bank a decent return on Tuesday, Real Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois ($6.0m) is ready to step in. There should at least be save points on offer for him.
DEFENDERS
With Chelsea’s clean sheet odds favourable, we’ve also opted to include Reece James ($5.8m) and Marc Cucurella ($5.8m).
James has declared himself “fit and well” for the semi-final, having pulled out of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Palmeiras at the last minute due to injury.
As a direct free-kick taker, James qualifies for bonus if one of his dead-ball attempts finds the net.
Cucurella, meanwhile, has combined five shots and four key passes across his four tournament appearances so far, the most of any Chelsea defender.
Elsewhere, with four clean sheets in five matches, PSG arrive in superb defensive form.
According to reports, Achraf Hakimi ($6.5m) missed a training session earlier this week, but in the absence of him being ruled out, we simply have to include him here.
The Moroccan has produced an attacking return in each of his last three appearances. He’s also among the top three PSG players for both shots (nine) and key passes (seven) at the Club World Cup.
Team-mate Nuno Mendes ($6.2m) is also included, having averaged 5.8 points per match.
Our final defender is Fluminense’s Samuel Xavier ($4.2m). The marauding wing-back assisted Hercules ($5.4m) in the quarter-finals and has chipped in with five key passes overall.
MIDFIELDERS
As well as clean sheet potential, Chelsea have demonstrated a significant attacking threat in the competition thus far, having netted 12 goals in five matches.
Penalty taker Cole Palmer ($9.6m) impressed against Palmeiras on Saturday, scoring the opener after a lovely turn. His four goal attempts, two shots on target and 15 completed passes in the final-third were all the most of any player.
Pedro Neto ($6.5m), who has already scored three times in four matches, also gets the nod. He is one of only two players still left in the competition to have reached double-figures for key passes, alongside Fluminense’s Jhon Arias ($6.2m).
In terms of PSG, they have a variety of midfielders to choose from, but we’ve sided with wingers Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ($9.2m) and Desire Doue ($8.2m).
Kvaratskhelia is the European champions’ leading shot-taker of the tournament so far with 16, while he’s joint-top among his team-mates for key passes (seven).
Doue, meanwhile, broke the deadlock against Bayern Munich on Saturday with a superb strike.
Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde ($7.5m) completes our midfield set-up. His total of 16 shots is the joint-most of all Fantasy midfielders, having become an important part of Xabi Alonso’s engine room.
FORWARDS
There are certainly game-time question marks over two of our three forwards, Joao Pedro ($6.5m) and Gonzalo Garcia ($5.1m), particularly with Nicolas Jackson ($7.4m) and Kylian Mbappe ($11.0m) lurking.
The suspension of Liam Delap ($6.0m) presents an opportunity for Joao Pedro to start, however.
He was brought on for Delap in the quarter-finals, with Jackson staying on the bench, and made an immediate impact, with two shots and two key passes in just 36 minutes of football.
Crucially, Club World Cup Fantasy managers will have access to the Chelsea line-up before the deadline.
As for Garcia, he just keeps on scoring, having netted four goals in five matches!
Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior ($11.0m) is our final pick. The explosive Brazilian is second only to Valverde for shots in the Madrid squad, with 12.
He’s also their joint-leading creator so far, thanks to eight key passes.
