Either Chelsea or Palmeiras will claim football’s golden crown for the first time as the Club World Cup reaches its climax at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. This prestigious final does not figure in many players’ CVs as it is mostly open only to clubs who have already claimed the crown of their continent.

Chelsea, the European champions, make a second appearance in the tournament a decade after the first, which ended in a frustrating final edged by Corinthians in December 2012. Current head coach Thomas Tuchel has steered the Blues to the finals of the FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Carabao Cup, and now this continental showpiece.

Our opponents, ‘the Palm Trees’ in English, are back-to-back Copa Libertadores champions, having beaten Flamengo (and Blues player Kenedy) in the November final. Unlike compatriot clubs Corinthians, Internacional and Sao Paulo, the world crown has so far eluded the former home of Rivaldo, Cesar Sampaio and Roberto Carlos.

This will be the fourth England-Brazil culture clash in a Club World Cup final. The Brazil national team is ranked second in the world by FIFA, three ahead of England. Yet Chelsea, thanks to Thiago Silva, have as many current Selecao players as Palmeiras. Weverton is theirs.

Victory for the Blues would complete the set of every available trophy since Roman Abramovich bought the club in July 2003.

Chelsea team news

Chelsea have had a day fewer than Palmeiras to recover ahead of tournament finale but the strength of the Londoners’ squad and the luxury of five substitutions allows Thomas Tuchel to freshen things up on Saturday if necessary.

The Bavarian, who has rejoined his players in the sunshine of Abu Dhabi, could become the third coach from his nation to claim this international prize.

The Champions League winners dominated Wednesday’s semi-final from the start against Asia representatives Al Hilal. The Saudi side staged a late rally requiring a pair of excellent saves from keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Blues might have been keeping something in reserve for the final, but have lost momentum in several recent outings. Tuchel’s assistant Zsolt Low said he hopes the team play ‘a little bit freer in the final with a better rhythm.’

With Mateo Kovacic (a Club World Cup-winner with Real Madrid in 2016) dominating midfield, the swagger was back in Hakim Ziyech’s play, Kai Havertz looked closer to his raiding best, and Romelu Lukaku was back among the goals with the decisive strike. The Belgian is now our joint leading scorer with nine on all fronts alongside Jorginho.

After this game the Londoners have a free week for recovery before the trip to Crystal Palace, so Tuchel may stick largely to the same personnel and formation, though fewer errors in possession will be vital against the Brazilians, who are menacing on the counter.

Although Edou Mendy has trained for a few days following his AFCON success, Kepa may retain the gloves, especially with his prowess in penalty shoot-outs.

Chelsea will aim to exploit the average height discrepancy between the two finalists. The Brazilians measured up two inches shorter than the Blues in the midweek matches, with both full-backs, central midfielders, and four forwards around 5ft 7in tall.

More strategic than samba football

For all his animated pitchside presence, Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira has produced a disciplined outfit who have a knack of scoring when they need to. The Portuguese coach is renowned for exposing opponents’ tactical weaknesses and his side are unbeaten in 10 games across all competitions.

The White-Greens are quick off the blocks, looking to snatch the lead then soak up pressure until the opposition tires and further chances present themselves. Relaxed without the ball, they were outgunned by six on-target shots to three by Al Ahly, who had two-thirds of possession after the break, despite being a man down for the final 10 minutes.

Some rare mishandling by Brazil’s back-up ’keeper Weverton against the Egyptians, spared by an offside flag, will also have alerted the Blues’ strikers.

All the same, the White-Greens won the semi-final 2-0 because the front four in their 4-2-3-1 is full of threat, from assister-in-chief Gustavo Scarpa on the left to leading scorers Rony (their centre-forward) and number 10 Raphael Veiga.

Veiga neatly put away the opening goal against Al Ahly from man of the match Dudu’s set-up, then returned the compliment for their second. Copa Libertadores final goalscorer Deyverson, one of the few tall players on their outfield roster, is more of a target man.

Ferreira said his team were ‘scarred’ by their failure in this tournament a year ago, and the rival meme that most riles the Sao Paulo side’s fans is ‘Palmeiras have no world cup.’ Chelsea will have to be at our best to keep it that way.

How to watch Chelsea in the Club World Cup

The final is covered live, free-to-air, in the UK by Channel 4 from 4pm. To find the relevant broadcaster where you are, see FIFA’s guide

The game can be shown free-to-air on English TV despite a longstanding embargo on live televised matches between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday afternoons because this is a FIFA tournament and therefore exempt.

Chelsea TV’s worldwide matchday watchalong show – including early team news, exclusive interviews and analysis – is on this website and The 5th Stand app from 4.20pm.

Club World Cup regulations

A maximum of 23 players can be named in the match day squad. Up to five substitutes may be selected from a bench of 12, plus an additional replacement should the game enter extra time. With Covid in mind, a fixture will go ahead as long as a club can name any 14 players, including a goalkeeper.

Video Assistant Referees (VARs), semi-automated offside decisions, and goal-line alerts will be used throughout the tournament. On Wednesday Chelsea became the first European club to experience the new body-mapping technology aimed at instantly verifying offside calls. The decision and explanatory graphic were impressively quick.

If the score is level at the end of stoppage time in the second half, extra time will be played and, if necessary, penalty kicks will determine the winners.

Man in the middle

Australian referee Chris Beath is in charge of a Chelsea match for the first time, but lead VAR Massimiliano Irrati was on screen watch for three Blues outings in last season’s Champions League, including our decisive 2-0 home victory over Real Madrid.

We have history

Chelsea became the first professional English club ever to play in Sao Paulo in 1929, and the occasion links this and our previous Club World Cup final. One of the many ports of call during the Pensioners’ seven-week tour of South America that summer, the Brazilian city hosted two games at Parque Antartica, historic home of Saturday’s opponents Palmeiras (then known as Palestra Italia).

The history-making first game, a headline-grabbing 4-4 draw on 4 July, was against Corinthians and the second, three days later, was a 2-3 defeat by Sao Paulo – the club supported by Blues midfielder Jorginho.

We met Corinthians again in the final of this competition in December 2012. Paolo Guerrero headed in the only goal of the game as three men in royal blue hesitated. The Londoners, reduced to 10 at the end, had a chance to take the game into extra time but Fernando Torres fired straight at goalkeeper Cassio, who had earlier denied Victor Moses and Juan Mata. Cesar Azpilicueta, the last serving member that squad, was a late substitute.

One of the most successful coaches in Palmeiras’ history also plied his trade at Stamford Bridge. In 1999, nine years before his seven-month tenure in SW6, Luiz Filipe Scolari (who won the World Cup for Brazil in 2002) stewarded the White-Greens to glory in South America’s Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, for the first time.

Big Phil’s side then lost the Toyota Cup final (forerunner to this competition) to Manchester United with Roy Keane hitting the winner. This is their first competitive fixture against English opposition since then.

Taking it seriously

Chelsea are aiming to become only the third world champions from England. The two previous winners in any incarnation of the competition are Manchester United and Liverpool. Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest reached the final of the then Toyota Cup.

We’ve (nearly) won it all

Chelsea have won every men’s first team non-friendly league or cup we have ever contested – including four set up in war-time – apart from the FIFA Club World Cup.

Victory would bring the first brand new addition to the haul since the Europa League (successor to the UEFA Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup) in 2013, when the Blues became the first English club to have worn all four European crowns. The group currently includes Ajax, Bayern, Juventus and Manchester United; only United and Bayern have added the Club World Cup.

To the victor, the spoils

Some splendid prizes are on offer to the winners of the final. The elegant Club World Cup trophy, created by Birmingham jewellers Thomas Fattorini Ltd, features six pillars representing the participating confederations and supporting a globe in the form of a football. The winning team are presented with an exact replica, as well as medals for the players.The successful club is also entitled to wear a gold FIFA World Champions badge on match shirts until the next final has been played.

Were Chelsea to prevail, the special badge could make its debut in the Champions League and domestic competitions other than the Premier League (which does not permit other logos).

FIFA also presents prize money, which for 2020 winners Bayern Munich reportedly amounted to around $5m.

Club World Cup final

SaturdayPalmeiras v Chelsea 4.30pm UK time (Channel 4)

Premier League fixtures

SaturdayMan Utd v Southampton 12.30pm (BT Sport)Brentford v Crystal Palace 3pmEverton v Leeds 3pmWatford v Brighton 3pmNorwich v Man City 5.30pm (Sky Sports)

SundayBurnley v Liverpool 2pmNewcastle v Aston Villa 2pm (Sky Sports)Tottenham v Wolves 2pmLeicester v West Ham 4.30pm (Sky Sports)

TuesdayMan Utd v Brighton 8.15pm