Chelsea are set to face Portsmouth in a behind-closed-doors friendly this weekend, according to Standard Sport. The match has been arranged to help boost the fitness of players not away with their respective countries during the current extended international break.
Behind-closed-doors match at Cobham
The game will not be open to spectators and will be played behind closed doors. It will not be the first time Chelsea have played an unofficial friendly since Xabi Alonso began work as their new manager on July 9.
Before their pre-season tour of south-east Asia and Australia this summer, Chelsea played behind closed doors at their Cobham training ground against League Two side Crawley Town and League One outfit Bromley, winning those games 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.
Recent form and history
Chelsea and Portsmouth have not met in a competitive contest since a 4-0 win for Chelsea in the FA Cup third round at Stamford Bridge in January 2012.
Chelsea currently sit 10th in the Premier League after a three-match winless run that followed an initially strong start by Alonso, while Portsmouth lie 19th in the Championship table after winning only two of their first seven matches this term under John Mousinho, drawing 2-2 with Blackburn at Fratton Park last time out.
Filling the international break gap
The friendly will help to bridge the three-week gap between Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at rivals Brentford in their final match before the international break and their home meeting with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on October 10.
