Overview
Chelsea will begin the pre-season stage with an away match against Western Sydney Wanderers, marking coach Xabi Alonso's first match since taking over the London team.
The home team enters the match after a forgettable season. Western Sydney Wanderers are only at the bottom of the A-League 2025-2026 table with 21 points, the worst record in club history. As a result, coach Alen Stajcic was sacked in January and Ufuk Talay was appointed with the task of reviving the team.
Wanderers' biggest problem lies in attack when they only scored 27 goals after the whole season, the fewest in the league. However, the Australian team somewhat regained confidence after a 2-0 victory over Tigers FC in the 32nd round of the Australian National Cup. This is also their first victory in an official match after a streak of 8 matches of only draws and losses.
However, Wanderers do not have a good record every time they face English representatives. The last time they faced a Premier League club, they lost to Everton 1-5 in a friendly match in 2022.
On the other side, Chelsea also experienced a disappointing 2025-2026 season when they only ranked 10th in the Premier League and did not qualify for European cups. The London team scored 58 goals, the second lowest attacking record of the club in the 21st century, and conceded 52 times.
The Blues' season-end form is also not optimistic as they have only won 3 of their last 14 matches in all competitions, along with a draw and 10 defeats. They closed the season with a defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
In that context, the friendly match with Western Sydney Wanderers is not only a warm-up for the new season, but also an opportunity for Xabi Alonso to convey tactical philosophy and make his first mark as Chelsea head coach.
Personnel situation
Coach Ufuk Talay is expected to use many key players from the start, but strikers Miguel Di Pizio, Brandon Borrello and Liam Gillion are likely to be substituted early to ensure fitness. In the midfield area, Dylan Scicluna and Angus Thurgate are expected to be side by side in the starting lineup.
On the other side, Filip Jorgensen is likely to be given a starting spot in the first half, with the central defender trio Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Tayo Subuloye guarding the front.
Romeo Lavia is still uncertain to play after a minor collision. If the Belgian midfielder is absent, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli and Reggie Watson may be arranged to play as a pair in the center of midfield.
In attack, Cole Palmer is expected to support behind center forward Joao Pedro in Chelsea's first match under Xabi Alonso.
Expected lineup:
Western Sydney Wanderers: Vidackovic, Madanha, Ferreyra, Pantazopoulos, Gersbach, Scicluna, Thurgate, Di Pizio, Hammond, Gillion, Borrello.
Jorgensen, Fofana, Subuloye, Colwill, Palestra, Nicoll-Jazuli, Watson, Kavuma-McQueen, Palmer, Gittens, Pedro.
Score prediction: Western Sydney Wanderers 0-3 Chelsea
The match between Western Sydney Wanderers and Chelsea takes place at 4:45 PM on July 28 (Vietnam time).
