Chelsea’s pre-season preparations continue today in Hong Kong as they face Juventus in a friendly. Xabi Alonso side have already played two matches with both sending up surprising results as the the new manager looks to get to grips with his new squad.
The first game was a 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers before Tottenham defeated Chelsea 2-1 thanks to a Richarlison winner in extra time.
Alonso knows there is more work to be done before the season begins in three weeks saying “we are at the stage of pre-season, so not where we want to be,” at a press conference on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck are recent arrivals to the club as is winger Geovany Quenda who, along with Welbeck, has joined the squad on their tour of Australia and Asia and could feature against Juve. Yet, Alonso knows there is work to be done
The Serie A side have enjoyed a decent pre-season with a draw against Basel quickly followed up by wins over Stanrd Liege and OGC Nice but can they beat the Blues this afternoon?
*Follow all the action from Chelsea v Juventus with our live blog below: *
When is Chelsea v Juventus?
Chelsea play Juventus at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium on Wednesday 5 August, with kick-off at 12:30pm BST.
Chelsea v Juventus
Chelsea continue their pre-season preparations under new boss Xabi Alonso as they face Juventus in a friendly in Hong Kong.
The Blues have played two games on this tour with mixed results: a 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, featuring a Joao Pedro hat-trick, was followed by a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to 10-man Tottenham as Richarlison scored late in extra time.
Juventus have yet to concede in their own round of summer friendlies, having drawn 0-0 with Basel before beating Standard Liege and OGC Nice in their last encounter.
Chelsea’s squad is slowly taking shape as key players return from post-World Cup breaks, giving Alonso time to tinker with formations and his preferred XI ahead of the season starting in three weeks’ time.
Good morning!
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Chelsea’s latest pre-season fixture as they take on Juventus in Hong Kong.
Xabi Alonso is still figuring out his best XI ahead of the new season but will no doubt want to win against the European heavyweights this afternoon.
We’ll have all the updates, team news and more so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 12.30pm.