Fresh from a five-star drubbing of Wrexham in Mauricio Pochettino's first game in charge, Chelsea lock horns with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday as part of the Premier League Summer Series.
The two sides butt heads at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, while Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Brentford and Fulham will also be taking part in the six-team tournament over the next eight days.
Match preview
© Reuters
Barring the inclusions of Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka - to some degree - Pochettino's first Chelsea lineup was almost unrecognisable, as the Argentine handed starts to a plethora of academy products for a glamour tie with National League champions Wrexham.
However, the Red Dragons' owners may opt against making that friendly into a Hollywood movie, as the Blues hit their League Two counterparts for five without reply, starting with a first-half brace from former Burnley loanee Ian Maatsen.
Wrexham were ostensibly set to keep the scoreline at a respectable 2-0 entering the final 10 minutes, but a late Chelsea onslaught saw Christopher Nkunku mark his debut with a goal before Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell completed the rout in injury time.
The North Carolina heat was intense, but Pochettino's youthful Chelsea crop were also on fire on Wednesday evening, although the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss immediately called for improvement after the final whistle blew, and with good reason too.
Indeed, Chelsea only have top-tier opponents left in their summer friendly schedule, as Newcastle and Fulham will also take on the Blues in the Premier League Summer Series, before Borussia Dortmund provide a stern continental test in Chicago.
© Reuters
Yet to take to the field since their historic 2022-23 campaign, Brighton certainly did not miss Graham Potter after the Englishman swapped the South Coast for Stamford Bridge, as his successor Roberto De Zerbi has laid down quite the marker at the Amex Stadium.
Employing the same entertaining brand of attacking football that saw him make a name for himself at Sassuolo, De Zerbi masterminded a stellar sixth-placed finish with the Seagulls, who can now look ahead to their first-ever Europa League venture in a couple of months.
Progression to the semi-finals of the FA Cup was another highlight of a tremendous campaign, and even then Brighton were only denied a spot in the final by Manchester United on penalties, although few would have backed them to ruin Manchester City's treble parade in the final anyway.
Of course, rival clubs are circling Brighton's most in-demand stars after their hugely successful season, but Alexis Mac Allister represents the Seagulls' only big-name exit thus far, and as ever, the recruitment team at the Amex have been lauded for their summer activity.
Brighton play just three friendlies in the Summer Series before commencing Premier League duty at home to newly-promoted Luton Town, and the Seagulls memorably did the double over Chelsea during the 2022-23 campaign, serving Potter a slice of humble pie in a 4-1 Amex thrashing before coming away with a 2-1 win from West London.
Team News
© Reuters
Chelsea's thrashing of Wrexham lightened the mood after the Blues were dealt another devastating injury blow with Wesley Fofana, who has undergone ACL reconstruction surgery and is now on the long road to recovery.
Benoit Badiashile, Armando Broja and Marcus Bettinelli have welcomed Fofana back into the medical bay, but Pochettino offered a positive update on Reece James, who is expected to fly out to the USA imminently after coming down with an illness.
With the calibre of opposition increasing, Pochettino will likely call upon some of his established names to return to the starting lineup here, including Kepa Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Gallagher and Chilwell, although ex-Seagulls loanee Levi Colwill and Cucurella will no doubt be eyeing starts against their former club.
As for Brighton, De Zerbi is still without the injured pair of Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle) and Jakub Moder (knee), while Robert Sanchez, Aaron Connolly and Andi Zeqiri are among those to have been left out as their agents work on summer exits.
New arrivals Bart Verbruggen, James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud and Joao Pedro have all made the cut, though, while there is also a spot for Moises Caicedo, who has allegedly already been the subject of one failed bid from Chelsea this term.
De Zerbi will inevitably ring the changes midway through the match as his 33-strong squad build up their respective fitness levels, and ex-Chelsea duo Tariq Lamptey and Billy Gilmour should both earn minutes against their old club.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Gusto, Silva, Colwill, Chilwell; Gallagher, Fernandez, Chukwuemeka; Sterling, Nkunku, Maatsen
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Webster, Estupinan; Caicedo, Dahoud; March, Lallana, Mitoma; Ferguson
We say: Chelsea 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Rustiness is almost certain to come into play for Brighton on Saturday, but Chelsea are yet to face top-level opposition in pre-season either, and Pochettino is hardly blessed with a surplus of experienced options.
However, with young players such as Maatsen and new arrivals in the shape of Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson already making statements of intent, we have faith in the Blues to edge a closely-fought battle and gain a small slice of revenge for their pair of losses to De Zerbi's side last season.
No Data Analysis info
