Chelsea v Paris St Germain Betting – July 22nd, 2012

Sides meet in first ever soccer match at Yankee Stadium

Ancelotti - Makelele (PSG)
Ancelotti - Makelele (PSG) © GEPA pictures

After picking up a 4-2 win in their opening match of the Herbalife World Football Challenge 2012, Chelsea move on to face a much tougher test in the shape of Paris St Germain. Young Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku netted himself a brace against the MLS side Seattle Sounders, and new signings Eden Hazard and Marko Marin both chipped in with a goal as well for the Blues. Naturally Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo made good use of his squad, and it showed in their display, which was less than impressive or convincing Chelsea, along with the hosts were sloppy in their defensive approach to the game and that naturally led to plenty of changes in the game at the CenturyLink Field. After taking a 2-0 lead, Chelsea could have conceded a bag of goals, but were pegged back to just 2-2 at half time. Both Hazard and Markin were among the brightest players on the pitch for Chelsea, while Lukaku, just 19 years old remember, was impressive with his strength. So these are important games for Chelsea’s fringe players, as they try and play their way into contention for a place in the team next season.

So, some positive pointers for Di Matteo, but his side will have to be a whole lot sharper and more focused if they are going to get anything out of a strong Paris St Germain set up. This is one of the much anticipated pre-season friendly games out in the Herbalife World Football Challenge (which is just a random collection of fixtures between some of Europe’s biggest names and MLS representatives). So after feeling their way back into action, Chelsea’s stars will face a stern test on Sunday, July 22nd (a 7pm kick off American Eastern Standard Time). This match is taking place in New York at the famous Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees. This will be the first match ever held at the Stadium and makes up another great attraction for soccer in North America.

Chelsea v Paris St Germain betting will see a battle between these two financial powerhouses in the game. It is also a re-union between Chelsea and their former manager Carlo Ancelotti, now in charge in Paris. Ancelotti captured the big signings of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to push the French side forward next season. They couldn’t catch Marseille in the French League last season, but are now already strong favourites to take the league title next season, as well as making an impact in the Champions League. Some good news for Chelsea is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t be making his début for PSG against them. But Parisians splashing out over £150 million during the summer, including signing striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, shows that they have the might of spending power to match the likes of Chelsea. So this could be a tight match up between two pretty decent squads, which could have a lot of talent on show and should be a real football fest.

Chelsea v Paris St Germain Betting Odds at online bookmaker William Hill
Chelsea Evens, Draw 11/5, PSG 11/5

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