This is Chelsea's third appearace at the Club World Cup, beaten by Corinthians in the 2021 final, before getting their hands on the trophy nine years later, defeating Palmeiras 2-1 in Abu Dhabi.
Los Angeles FC are debuting at this competition.
Chelsea vs LAFC preview
Should Chelsea be considered amongst the favourites to win this summer's Club World Cup? The Blues qualified by winning the Champions League four years ago but, of the 23-man matchday squad plus manager that defeated Manchester City 1-0 at the Dragão, Reece James is the only survivor traveling stateside. Fair to say, the West London club have undergone plenty of churn since then, but might be at the start of a successful era under Enzo Maresca.
In his first season in charge, the Italian led Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League, meaning they will be back in next season's Champions League, as well as picking up a trophy too. The Blues largely breezed to UEFA Conference League glory, scoring 45 goals in 15 matches, including coming from behind to defeat Real Betis 4-1 in last month's final in Wrocław. So, Chelsea are now chasing more silverware this summer, one of the front-runners to go all the way, certainly massive favourites to top Group D, with games against Flamengo and Espérance de Tunis to come.
As for Los Angeles FC, while their opponents qualified for this tournament 1,479 days ago, they booked their spot a mere 16 days ago. After Club León were disqualified for breaching multi-club ownership rules, LAFC took on Club América in a play-in game on 31 May, fighting back from a goal down to prevail 2-1, with Igor Jesus heading home an 89th minute equaliser, before Denis Bouanga completed the turnaround in extra time, sparking wild celebrations at BMO Stadium.
The Black and Gold only began play in 2018, but have been quite successful so far, winning two Supporters' Shields, MLS Cup in 2022 and last year's U.S. Open Cup, while also reaching two CONCACAF Champions Cup Finals, defeated by Tigres UANL in 2020 and the aforementioned León three years later. This time round, in what'll be Steve Cherundolo's fourth and final season in charge, LAFC are down in 13th in the MLS overall standings, albeit they're currently unbeaten in nine, most-recently swatting aside Sporting Kansas City 3-1 last Sunday. So, LAFC are obviously underdogs in this match, but will believe they can spring a surprise at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Chelsea vs LAFC head-to-head record
These two clubs have never previously met.
Chelsea team news
Of Chelsea's traveling party, there's no room for Đorđe Petrović, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, João Félix, Raheem Sterling any many, many others, but new recruits Liam Delap, Dário Essugo, Aarón Anselmino, Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos could all debut at some point.
It'll be interesting to see if Delap in particular is thrown straight in, with Nicolas Jackson the usual first-choice centre-forward, while Robert Sánchez is likely to be prefered to Filip Jörgensen in goal.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs LAFC: (4-3-3): Sánchez; James, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernández, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Delap.
Chelsea player to watch vs LAFC
Cole Palmer remains Chelsea's main man, playing a staring role in the Conference League Final success, looking to add to his 40 goals and 27 assists in 91 appearances for the club.
LAFC team news
Centre-back Lorenzo Dellavalle and Odin Thiago Holm, who's on loan from Celtic, are both injured, but Steven Cherundolo otherwise has a full-strength squad from which to choose. Winger Javairô Dilrosun, who has joined on loan from Club América, the team LAFC just defeated in the play-in game, has joined on loan until 24 July, so is expected to debut; he has not got time to waste on that front!
English fans will certainly recognise French World Cup winning duo Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giround, considering they made 616 Premier League appearances between them. Lloris has been generally excellent since arriving in California, Giroud less so, scoring only five goals in 33 appearances for LAFC, so now would be a good time for him to rediscover his best form.
LAFC predicted lineup vs Chelsea: (4-3-3): Lloris; Palencia, Long, Segura, Hollingshead; Igor Jesus, Delgado, Tillman; Ordaz, Bouanga, Ebobisse.
LAFC player to watch vs Chelsea
While struggling Giroud could begin the afternoon in Atlanta on the bench, Denis Bouanga will for certain be the Black and Gold's most-dangerous attacker. The Gabonese international has scored 12 goals in 2025 already, including the crucial winner against América, taking his tally to 81 goals for the club, chasing down Carlos Vela's all-time LAFC record of 93.
Chelsea vs LAFC prediction
We are fully expecting Chelsea to claim a comfortable victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with LAFC giving the Blues something of a run for their money, but simply being outclassed: Chelsea 3-1 LAFC.
Chelsea vs LAFC FAQs - FIFA Club World Cup
How to watch Chelsea vs LAFC FIFA Club World Cup game on TV channel?
Chelsea vs LAFC FIFA Club World Cup game will be available on the following TV channels;
- UK: Channel 5 and DAZN UK
- USA: TruTV USA, TUDN and DAZN USA.
- Canada: DAZN Canada
How to watch Chelsea vs LAFC FIFA Club World Cup game on live streaming?
Chelsea vs LAFC FIFA Club World Cup game will be available on the following streaming services;
- UK: My5 and DAZN UK
- USA: TruTV USA, TUDN and DAZN USA.
- Canada: DAZN Canada
What is the date and kick-off time for Chelsea vs LAFC in the FIFA Club World Cup?
Chelsea vs LAFC takes place on Monday 16 June 2025, with kick off at 20:00 (BST), 15:00 (EDT) & 12:00 (PDT).