Chelsea caps off winter with the Club World Cup in February

When talking about Chelsea’s winter slog, we’re usually talking about the period from the end of the November international break to the first Champions League fixture in February. That’s a period that has traditionally tripped the Blues up. Injuries mount as the fixtures do and form dips (often to the point of no return). It is the biggest test of a Chelsea manager. Survive it in a good position, and the season usually ends well.

This year, it won’t end with the Champions League. Instead, the Club World Cup has finally been rescheduled. Chelsea will travel to the United Arab Emirates sometime after 3 February (because the Blues skip a few rounds) and 12 February for the Club World Cup. But the real question is how it intersects with everything else going on.

It seems pretty likely that both the Brighton away and Arsenal at home matches will be moved. There is the chance Chelsea has to play on the ninth and the FA leaves the Blues hanging on the eighth like they did Liverpool a few years ago, but that remains to be seen. The Club World Cup shouldn’t be too tricky (though, Corinthians showed otherwise in 2012) but it comes after a run of games including Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham along with whatever cup games are sprinkled in.

It will also be a somewhat tight turn around for many international players. The Africa Cup of Nations will take Edouard Mendy away possibly up to 6 February. CONEMBOL has qualifiers up to 1 February and CONCACAF up to 2 February. There will be plenty of time for Thiago Silva and Christian Pulisic to return, get on the England time schedule, and then jet off to the UAE but that isn’t to mention the players that will need to go the distance in their place.

Chelsea, as the European Champion, doesn’t enter until the semifinals. This should be the last time the tournament is done in this old format that clearly favors a European or South American final. If previous tournaments are any indication, the final will be Chelsea against the Copa Libertadores winner. Palmeiras just won it for the second year in a row.

Although, in a break from tradition, Palmeiras didn’t make the final of the last Club World Cup. They were defeated by the CONCACAF Champions League winner Tigres and again in the third place match to the CAF Champions League winner Al Ahly. Chelsea may be the biggest fish in this pond, but there may be a change in what’s going on under the water.

The Blues should be more aware of this than most as Chelsea is one of the few European Champions not to have also won Club World Cup. In the grand scheme of things, it is a minor trophy but it is one the club has never won. That alone should be all Chelsea needs to get past Palmeiras, Al Ahly, Monterrey, or whoever ends up standing in their way.

The fixture congestion that comes later will be a bigger headache, but that’s one for later. Come the end of winter, no matter what happened, the Blues need to turn up and bring home this trophy. Anything less is unacceptable.