Chelsea may have expected an easy journey in Club World Cup Group D, but they are now on course for a crucial final match against ES Tunis to determine which team advances to the round of 16.
Securing the top spot is no longer an option for the Blues, who faced a setback with a 3-1 loss to Flamengo last Friday.
Nonetheless, they are in a good position to secure second place with just one point needed to secure a spot in the knockout stages.
ES Tunis earned three points by defeating Los Angeles FC 1-0. However, they need a victory against Chelsea to progress ahead of the Premier League team.
Team news
ES Tunis forwards Abdramane Konate and Elias Mokwana may retain their spots after replacing Yan Sasse and Chiheb Jebali in the previous 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC.
Rodrigo Rodrigues is likely to continue as the main striker for ES Tunis after starting in both matches.
Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson is suspended following a red card in the 3-1 defeat to Flamengo.
Liam Delap is expected to lead the attack for Chelsea, with the possibility of a formation change from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1, potentially seeing Noni Madueke return to the starting lineup and one of the midfield trio (Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Romeo Lavia) making way.
The stats
Chelsea have won two of their last three matches by a margin of at least two goals.
The Blues have kept clean sheets in four of their last seven games.
Chelsea have scored the opening goal in four of their last five matches.
ES Tunis have found the net in 24 of their last 26 games.
Prediction
Chelsea have faced challenges in finding form at the Club World Cup, yet they possess the potential to be a threat in the knockout rounds and should secure a place in the round of 16 with a convincing win over ES Tunis.
While there is room for improvement for Chelsea, who followed up a comfortable 2-0 win against Los Angeles FC with an unexpected 3-1 defeat to Flamengo, they are likely to have learned from their recent experiences and should perform at a higher level against ES Tunis, the fourth-seeded team in the group.
Esperance managed to stay in contention with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Los Angeles FC, but they face a tough challenge against Chelsea and might struggle to avoid a heavy loss.