The Round of 16 in this year’s FIFA Club World Cup produced a few surprises, notably Man City and Inter Milan being knocked out. Now we are getting to crunch time, with only eight teams remaining and the final just around the corner. The four quarter-final games will be played on July 4th and 5th, with two games set to take place on each day.
Below are some of my favorite bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the next stage of the competition.
Chelsea Moneyline (+105)
In the second group stage game, Chelsea suffered a shock 3-1 loss to Flamengo. At the time, it seemed like the end of the world, but looking back now, it could have been a blessing in disguise. The loss meant that they finished second in the group and avoided a Round of 16 clash against Bayern Munich. Flamengo ended up winning the group and lost to Bayern 4-2. Chelsea ended up with a matchup against Benfica, winning that 4-1 and here they are in the quarter-finals with another favorable matchup against Palmeiras.
The Blues have avoided matchups with the big guns, and as a result, I see them coasting to the semi-finals. Palmeiras are no scrubs, but they have yet to face this kind of competition this summer. Their group consisted of Porto, Al Ahly and Inter Miami. A win and two draws were enough to top the group. Then they got a favorable matchup against Brazilian rival Botafogo in the Round of 16, where they managed to advance with a 1-0 win in extra time.
Chelsea presents the toughest team they’ve faced so far by a landslide, and to get the Blues’ moneyline at plus money feels like a steal. I don’t expect a drubbing in this one, but Chelsea should have more than enough to win this in the 90 minutes. They have won six of their last seven games in all competitions, with that shocking performance against Flamengo being the only blip.
Harry Kane Anytime Goalscorer (+145)
Harry Kane is a goal-scoring machine. Despite a 10-0 win in the opening match against Auckland City, the Englishman did not get on the scoresheet and only played 60 minutes due to the blowout. He put that wrong right against Boca Juniors in the next game, scoring the opening goal. He was then held scoreless again by Benfica in the final group match, but only played the second half because Bayern had already qualified for the next round. In the first game of the knockout stages, Kane scored twice against Flamengo.
He has only featured for 89+ minutes in two of the four games in this tournament for the various reasons listed above. In those two games, he’s scored three times.
Rest assured, Bayern Munich will need their full starting lineup for this entire game, as PSG obviously presents a difficult challenge. Expect Kane to play the full 90, barring injury, and I expect him to do what he usually does: score goals. His first two seasons for the German team have been nothing short of spectacular, scoring 85 goals in 95 appearances.
At +145 odds, this feels like great value for him to get on the scoresheet at least once in this mouthwatering quarter-final matchup.
