Chelsea face fixture pile-up as Club World Cup dates and teams set

The dates for this season’s Club World Cup have finally been announced, with the lineup of teams also complete after Palmeiras’ win over David Luiz’ Flamengo in the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday night.

The competition usually takes place in December, but a shuffled calendar will see the Blues head to the United Arab Emirates in February instead this season.

The competition will run between the 3rd and the 12th of February, and Chelsea will enter the competition at the semi final stage, with the draw taking place this afternoon at 4pm, Chelsea confirmed on their official website earlier today.

Palmeiras, the COMMEBOL champions, will be on the other side of the draw, and we’re most likely to face them in the final.

All this means our games against Brighton and Arsenal will have to be rescheduled, plus an FA Cup fifth round tie if we make it that far.