Chelsea conclude their pre-season preparations this afternoon with a friendly against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge. The match marks the home debut of new manager Xabi Alonso, who faces his former club.
Pre-season tour results
The Blues are back at Stamford Bridge for the first time this summer following a tour of Australia and Asia, which yielded mixed results and performances. While Chelsea beat Western Sydney Wanderers and AC Milan, they lost back-to-back games against Tottenham and Juventus, before being held to a 3-3 draw by Johor Darul Ta’zim in Malaysia.
Team news and debuts
Chelsea are back to a full complement of players with their remaining post-World Cup absentees all returning to Cobham. There could also be debuts for new signings Morgan Rogers, Pep Chavarria, Jordan Henderson, Valentin Barco and Maxence Lacroix. Enzo Fernandez could also feature after Manchester City missed the Friday deadline to make an offer.
How to watch and opposition form
Chelsea vs Real Sociedad is being shown live on CFC+, Chelsea’s in-house video streaming service. An annual subscription to CFC+ currently costs £14.99 in the UK, or fans can purchase a one-off match pass for £9.99. Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 2pm BST.
Sociedad, meanwhile, begin their LaLiga campaign next weekend and are bidding to complete a treble over English teams this summer after recording wins over Wolves and Aston Villa.
