Chelsea must somehow try to stop an irresistible Paris Saint-Germain side from adding the Club World Cup trophy to their UEFA Champions League title as the final of the first edition of FIFA's expanded competition takes place on Sunday.
PSG travelled to the United States fresh from becoming European champions with a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich in late May, and they have lived up to their favourites tag at the Club World Cup.
Luis Enrique's side put four goals past Atletico Madrid in the group stage, four more past Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the last 16, and then proved too strong for Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
They appeared to hit new heights as they tore apart Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid in the last four, when their 4-0 winning margin could have been far greater.
The Parisians now stand on the verge of an extraordinary achievement, as they look to complete a clean sweep of trophies in this marathon 2024/25 season and add the world title to their French and European crowns.
"That is the objective we have had since the beginning but it is always very difficult to achieve these things -- very few teams can do what we are trying to do," said Luis Enrique after the semi-final.
PSG are therefore overwhelming favourites for the game which will be played at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey -- with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop -- and which is set to be attended by Donald Trump.
However Desire Doue, one of their standout performers during a remarkable campaign, insisted there were no concerns about complacency.
"We are not over-confident, not at all," France international Doue told reporters before PSG trained at Rutgers University, south of New York City, on Friday.
"We have been favourites for most matches in this competition and throughout this season, but what matters is what we do on the pitch."
Chelsea have plenty of reason to believe too, with Sunday's game finally wrapping up a campaign in which they won the UEFA Conference League and also finished fourth in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League.
While PSG lost to Botafogo during the group stage, Chelsea were also beaten by Brazilian opposition in Flamengo.
However, they have gone on to defeat Benfica as well as two other Brazilian teams, Palmeiras and Fluminense, to reach the final.
