Chelsea’s pre-season schedule has now been confirmed, with the Blues set for seven fixtures ahead of the new campaign as well as the Super Cup against Liverpool in August. Here, we take a look at what’s ahead for the Blues in pre-season…
When are the players back for pre-season training?
Some, but not all, the Chelsea players are expected to report for pre-season training on Friday before heading out to Dublin for the start of our upcoming season preparations. Players involved at international level will meet up with the squad at our pre-season training camp in Dublin on Monday.
Players involved at international level over the summer have an extended period of time off, while the likes of Toni Rudiger, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi have already been back at Cobham as they recover from long-term injuries.
Do we know who the Blues will face?
We do, with all our pre-season fixtures now confirmed. First, we travel to Dublin in Ireland for a training camp which includes games against Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic. Then we are off to Japan on pre-season tour, where we will face J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale before taking on Barcelona.
After that it’s a return to the UK, with a game against Championship side Reading on the agenda.
The Blues then travel to Austria to face Salzburg before wrapping up that trip with a game against Borussia Monchengladbach in nearby Germany.
There is also the Super Cup final, where the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League meet, to follow in Istanbul in August just a few days after our Premier League opener against Manchester United. We will face Liverpool in the Turkish capital.
The fixtures in full are listed below, with all games displaying UK kick-off times.
Wednesday, 10 July – Bohemians (7.45pm KO)
Saturday, 13 July – St Patrick’s (2pm KO)
Friday, 19 July – Kawasaki Frontale (11am KO)
Tuesday, 23 July – Barcelona (11.30am KO)
Sunday, 28 July – Reading (3pm KO)
Wednesday, 31 July – RB Salzburg (7pm KO)
Saturday, 3 August – Borussia Monchengladbach (4pm KO)
Wednesday, 14 August – Liverpool (UEFA Super Cup) (8pm KO)
Who could feature?
The main face to look out for in pre-season is likely to be Christian Pulisic. The American joined the Blues in January from Borussia Dortmund, before heading back to Germany to end the campaign there on loan. Now he’s raring to go in a Chelsea shirt and will join up with the squad once he’s finished up on international duty at the Gold Cup.
There’s the potential for a number of our returning loan players to feature on tour, with Michy Batshuayi, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Kurt Zouma reporting back and hoping to be involved, while Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori will hope to impress following successful stints in the Championship.
Are ticket details available?
Ticket details for some of games have been announced and can be purchased via the ticket section of the Chelsea website.
For the games in Ireland, they can be purchased via the below links:
Click here to buy tickets for the game against Bohemians
Click here to buy tickets for the game against St Patrick’s
Can I watch the games live?
You can! All of our pre-season games will be streamed live on the 5th Stand app and chelseafc.com, with full details and pricing for each game to be announced soon. Keep your eyes peeled on our digital platforms for further information in due course.