Overview
Chelsea enters the summer of 2026 with many changes under new coach Xabi Alonso. Besides perfecting their playing style through friendly matches, the Stamford Bridge team is also actively adding experience with notable contracts such as Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson, Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix.
During the summer tour, Chelsea experienced two contrasting performances. After a dramatic 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers, The Blues lost to Tottenham in the Sydney Cup. However, the young Brazilian talent Estevao still made his mark when scoring, continuing to show great potential before the new season.
Xabi Alonso's team is aiming for the best physical condition and form before the Premier League opening match against Fulham on August 22. Before that, they will successively face Juventus, AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta'zim in their tour of East Asia.
On the other side, Juventus enters the new season after only winning a ticket to the Europa League because they could not finish in the top 4 of Serie A last season. However, the club's leadership still places their trust in coach Luciano Spalletti.
Old Lady" is having a fairly positive warm-up. After the draw with Basel, Juventus successively defeated Standard Liege and Nice, in which Douglas Luiz scored the decisive goal against the Ligue 1 representative.
After the confrontation with Chelsea in Hong Kong (China), the Turin team will return to Italy to continue friendly matches with Palermo and the club's youth team before going to Australia to meet Inter Milan.
The last time the two teams met was in the 2021 Champions League group stage, when Chelsea heavily defeated Juventus 4-0 at Stamford Bridge after losing 0-1 in the first leg. This reunion promises to be a quality test for both teams before entering the new season.
Personnel situation
Chelsea received good news when Mykhaylo Mudryk was allowed to return to play after a long-term penalty and joined the team in the Asian tour.
In the goalkeeper position, Belgian newcomer Mike Penders is ready to compete for a starting spot with Robert Sanchez, while Teddy Sharman-Lowe is likely to be a substitute.
After the post-World Cup holiday, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson were both absent from the defeat against Tottenham. However, Xabi Alonso said that both could return in the match against Juventus. Conversely, Enzo Fernandez, Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers have not yet reached their best fitness to play.
On Juventus' side, the Turin team no longer has Dusan Vlahovic after terminating the contract with the Serbian striker. Therefore, Arkadiusz Milik, who has just recovered from injury, is likely to lead the attack.
To strengthen attacking power, Luciano Spalletti brought Randal Kolo Muani back to the team, and at the same time recruited young talent Kerim Alajbegovic and right-back Zeki Celik on a free transfer from Roma.
However, Juventus also suffered a loss in force when new player Jeff Ekhator suffered a muscle injury and had to join the absent list with key midfielder Khephren Thuram.
Expected lineup:
Chelsea: Sanchez, Palestra, Acheampong, Colwill, Hato, Lavia, Caicedo, Estevao, Palmer, Neto, Pedro.
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly, Celik, Locatelli, Luiz, Cambiaso, Zhegrova, Boga, Milik.
The match between Chelsea and Juventus takes place at 6:30 p.m. on August 5 (Vietnam time).
