Chelsea officially begin the Xabi Alonso era this morning as they take on Western Sydney Wanderers in their pre-season tour opener at Accor Stadium.
New manager, first official game
Alonso has been in post since early July and oversaw behind-closed-doors friendly wins over Crawley and Bromley at Cobham last week, but this is his first official match at the helm. He will hope to hit the ground running in Australia before summer preparations ramp up against Tottenham in the Sydney Super Cup on Saturday.
Squad and absentees
Chelsea are without several key stars who remain on holiday after the World Cup, including new club-record £117million signing Morgan Rogers. New arrivals Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda miss out through injury. However, Alonso has brought a strong squad featuring Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and recent recruit Marco Palestra. Several highly-rated youngsters will also get their chance to impress.
Upcoming tour schedule
Chelsea are also scheduled to play Juventus, AC Milan, Johor Darul Ta'zim and Real Sociedad before returning to Premier League action against rivals Fulham on August 24. Kick-off at Accor Stadium is at 10:45am BST.
