Chelsea sweating on Moises Caicedo, Paris Saint-Germain without key duo, and Ballon d’Or implications – Club World Cup final preview

UEFA Champions League winners PSG will be looking to lift another trophy in what has already been a dream year.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea have also had a successful season, finishing in the top four in the Premier League and winning the UEFA Conference League.

PSG will be without suspended pair Lucas Hernandez and Willian Pacho for Sunday’s Club World Cup final.

Defenders Hernandez and Pacho were sent off against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Aside from those suspensions, manager Luis Enrique has no significant injury worries going into the game.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are sweating over the fitness of midfielder Moises Caicedo for the match.

Caicedo suffered an ankle injury late on during Chelsea’s semi-final win over Fluminense. But he did take part in open training on Thursday morning, raising hopes that he could feature.

Midfielder Romeo Lavia has a muscle injury and has missed Chelsea’s last two matches in the competition. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to play any part in proceedings this weekend.

New signing Dario Essugo, another midfielder, was reported to have a “muscular problem” and missed Chelsea’s semi-final, again leaving his involvement against PSG in doubt.

The prize money on offer at this Club World Cup has made it an extremely attractive proposition for teams this summer.

The winner of Sunday’s match will receive $40 million (£30m), with $30m (£22m) going to the runners-up.

Chelsea have already had a very profitable tournament, their prize money including $7.5m for winning in the last 16, $13.125m for victory in the quarter-finals and $21m after seeing off Fluminense in the last four.

PSG star Ousmane Demble is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or and his stock will run even higher if the French champions enjoy more glory here.

Dembele was an inspirational figure as PSG beat Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, before their sensational 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the final in Munich.

Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah are also believed to be in the running for the Ballon d’Or, but they haven’t featured at the tournament with Barcelona and Liverpool not involved.

PSG manager Luis Enrique clearly believes that Dembele, who scored against Madrid in the last four, deserves the award.

“That is Ousmane Dembele, and he is far and away above other players in my opinion.”

The final between PSG and Chelsea will take place this Sunday, July 13, at 8pm UK time. The match will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The stadium will host next year’s World Cup final, with the tournament to be held across the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico.