Flamengo and Chelsea square off at the Club World Cup on Friday night with the opportunity to move to the brink of qualification for the last 16.
Both teams head to the Lincoln Financial Field in Philaldelphia having posted 2-0 victories in their opening Group D fixtures.
Chelsea got off to the perfect start by seeing off MLS side Los Angeles FC, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez getting on the scoresheet.
Meanwhile, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Luiz Araujo netted in either half as Flamengo overcame Esperance de Tunis.
Head to head: First-ever competitive meeting
As you would expect, these two teams have never squared off in a competitive fixture.
When Chelsea competed in the 2021 Club World Cup, they would face Palmeiras in the final, eventually prevailing by a 2-1 scoreline after extra time.
In the 2012 edition, however, they succumbed 1-0 to Corinthians in the final, highlighting how competitive games against Brazilian opposition have been in the past.
Meanwhile, Flamengo lost 1-0 to Liverpool in the 2019 final in their only ever competitive game against English opposition.
Predicted lineups: Maresca to rest and rotate?
Maresca has openly acknowledged that he will rotate his squad during the group stages and that could lead to changes all over the pitch.
Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernandez, Christopher Nkunku and Delap are all in contention to start.
Moises Caicedo may drop down to the substitutes’ bench after seemingly picking up a knock versus LAFC.
Having made his debut on the back of his transfer from Arsenal, Jorginho will be assessed with the last game being the Italy international’s first notable outing in two months.
Barring any other issues, the rest of the Flamengo XI could stay the same with Pedro leading the line.
Flamengo: Rossi; Varela, Ortiz, Pereira, Lucas; Pulgar, Jorginho; Gerson, De Arrascaeta, Araujo; Pedro.
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Lavia, Fernandez; Nkunku, Palmer, Madueke; Delap.
