Chelsea vs. ES Tunis picks, predictions: FIFA Club World Cup odds, best bets
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Tuesday's match between Chelsea and ES Tunis will decide which team from Group D joins Flamengo in the Round of 16.
Chelsea were the clear favorite to top the group before the tournament, but a surprising loss to the Brazilians on Friday means the Blues will need at least a point from Tuesday's match with ES Tunis to advance.
The bookies don't think that will be an issue – Chelsea has -430 odds to win the game – but the stylistic matchup could make this trickier than those odds suggest.
Chelsea vs. ES Tunis betting preview
9 p.m. ET, DAZN
It's hard to judge how this tournament has gone for Chelsea.
This is one of the tougher groups in the field, and the Blues just wrapped up an exhausting campaign in Europe at the end of May.
But it's still a bit disappointing to see Chelsea in this position, especially since they haven't been convincing on the field.
The Blues grinded LAFC down to dust in a 2-0 win in their opening match, but Flamengo overran Chelsea in the second half en route to a 3-1 victory.
Chelsea has scored three goals on 3.35 expected goals in their first two matches, which isn't terrible, but it's also not going to bowl anyone over, considering they were the favorites in both tilts.
You'd think that the Blues would have no issue finding their offensive mojo against ES Tunis, the champions of the Tunisian League, but the North Africans have been surprisingly competent in this tournament.
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ES Tunis players Bechir Ben Said and Khalil Guenichi celebrate their win over LAFC.
AP
Not only did ES Tunis defeat LAFC on Friday, but they were competitive in a 2-0 loss to Flamengo.
An early goal by Flamengo was enough to tilt the scales in their favor, but ES Tunis was still able to keep the match tight, allowing just three clear scoring chances.
Defense was the difference against LAFC in a 1-0 win in which they allowed just three shots on target and 1.25 expected goals.
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Chelsea vs. ES Tunis betting preview
Make no bones about it: ES Tunis is going to sit deep and dig in for this match.
The Tunisians know they need to win the match to keep their tournament going, but their best chance at doing that is putting everybody behind the ball and trying to catch Chelsea on a counterattack or capitalizing on a mistake.
It will be up to Chelsea, who haven't really played the lights out in this tournament, to unlock this defense.
The Blues will likely get out of here with a win, but it could take quite a while before they hit paydirt.
THE PLAY: First-Half Under 0.5 Goals (+260, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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