Well Blues fans, I hope the World Cup has been an enjoyable break from what has so far been a difficult campaign for our favorite club team. Chelsea’s season has been marred by ownership controversies, managerial changes, and an incredibly perplexing squad that at times has competed like a serious contender for another European crown, and at others played more like a relegation candidate. Graham Potter and his men currently sit eighth in the Premier League and await cup ties against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City in the Champions League and FA Cup, respectively. The results in these competitions will largely shape the consensus view of how successful this year was for the pride of London, so progressing to later stages is of the utmost importance.
Let’s put our frustrations with CFC behind us, though, and focus on a World Cup that has so far provided pretty incredible entertainment value. There have been some incredible upsets, namely Saudi Arabia’s now-famous win over Argentina and Japan’s miraculous comeback to progress ahead of Germany. Even the 0-0 draws, of which there have been many, have largely been consequential in eliminating a few of the pre-tournament front-runners. Betting these surprising results has been extremely profitable if you’ve picked your spots well, as has been backing the Blues to win at Qatar 2022. These are my three best bets involving Chelsea players for the World Cup round of 16.
All odds via FanDuel as of December 2