Soccer
Stan Collymore picks his dark horses and winners for the FIFA Club World Cup
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There's plenty of excitement heading into next week's FIFA Club World Cup, when the newly revamped tournament kicks off with Inter Miami's clash against Al Ahly.
Thirty-two teams from around the world will contest the tournament with the mouth-watering prospect of Europe's elite coming up against teams from South America, Asia and beyond.
Looking ahead to the tournament, Stan Collymore exclusively spoke to DAZN News, thanks to NewBettingOffers.co.uk and gave his predictions on which teams to look out for in the States.
The former Liverpool striker is tipping Chelsea to make a big impact in the competition, while also earmarking several dark horses who could cause a stir during the tournament.
"I think that Chelsea will be very interesting, they've got young players, they've just come off the back of a very good season, winning a trophy and by right getting back into the Champions League positions, which for a young side, the narrative has to move now towards.
"Paris Saint-Germain are getting all the great young players applauded, and they've spent a billion on equally, if not better, individual players on paper, so maybe this could be a time where Chelsea come of age in a tournament.
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"Keep an eye out for Palmeiras and Flamengo. I think that Brazilian teams always create lots of unique issues and problems and will have mega support in the United States.
"Then obviously you're looking at Al-Hilal, the ability to have top quality players, plus they're going to have a new manager, will Simone Inzaghi go and do it for a month, will Jose Mourinho do it for a month, will Cristiano Ronaldo be a player manager for a month, that would blow the internet wide.
"So watch out for them because the Saudis are definitely going to want to be putting their flag firmly in the global football tent with a Saudi World Cup on the horizon, they're going to want to be saying, we're not just spending this money for the sake of it, we want to be able to compete with the very best in the world and make the Saudi League a destination."
Collymore might fancy the likes of Al Hilal and Chelsea to go further than some expect at the Club World Cup, but when it comes to predicting a winner, it's much more straightforward.
He believes it will come to a straight shootout between two European heavyweights to see who will be the first to win the new format competition.
Adding: "But if I had to stick my flag to the mast if you like, I'm going to go Real Madrid or Manchester City. City need something to go into next season with, and Real Madrid, as the pioneers of the European Cup in the 50s, have always taken this kind of thing seriously as the 'club father' of the game, if you like.
"So Real Madrid or Manchester City, but keep an eye out for Flamengo, Botafogo or Palmeiras and Dark Horses, Al Hilal and Chelsea."
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