Overview
Even after two defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus last week, coach Xabi Alonso can still find positive signs from Chelsea's performance.
The missed opportunities in the previous 2 matches were converted into goals in the confrontation with AC Milan, helping The Blues win convincingly.
Joao Pedro continued to impress when he scored 2 goals, raising the total number of goals in the pre-season tour in Australia and Asia to 5. He scored both before and after the break, before Moises Caicedo scored another beautiful goal from outside the penalty area.
Not only improving finishing ability, Chelsea also had more reason to be satisfied when AC Milan did not launch any shots on target.
Because the match against Johor Darul Ta'zim took place just one day later, Alonso is expected to use a completely different squad. However, the players who participated in this match understand that they are under pressure to make an impression.
After the match, The Blues will return to England to prepare for the final friendly match against Real Sociedad next weekend.
Meanwhile, Johor Darul Ta'zim has had 2 friendly matches with Spanish teams in the past two weeks. After a 0-0 draw against Elche, the Malaysian team defeated FC Cartagena, a representative playing in the Spanish third division, with a score of 2-0.
Johor Darul Ta-zim is currently led by coach Xisco Munoz, who used to work at Watford and Sheffield Wednesday. In the 2025-2026 season, this team scored 117 goals in 24 matches in the Malaysian national championship, conceding only 10 times.
Personnel situation
If it is as expected, Chelsea will use a completely different squad and may face difficulties in the two full-back positions. Marco Palestra, Josh Acheampong and Jorrel Hato have all played more than 79 minutes in the most recent match.
Except for the possibility of Aaron Anselmino being arranged in the left-back position, Alonso may switch to a three-center-back formation, with two of them Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian and Mykhaylo Mudryk taking on the role of full-back.
Another option is to use a four-defender formation, in which Mamadou Sarr is pulled to play right-back. This arrangement can help Chelsea balance more in attack.
Having played at least 85 minutes in the match against AC Milan, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro are likely to be given rest in this match.
On Johor Darul Ta'zim's side, Xisco Munoz may continue to use the same squad as in the victory over Cartagena.
In that match, right-back Oscar Arribas and striker Marcos Guilherme were the two players who scored for the Malaysian team.
Expected lineup:
Penders, Sarr, Adarabioyo, Subolaye, Gittens, Essugo, Nicoll-Jazuli, Estevao, Walsh, Satpaev, Delap.
Johor Darul Ta-zim: Hazmi, Baharudin, Israfilov, Cristian, Pasero, Hidalgo, Fazail, Mendez, Corbin-Ong, Guilherme, Bergson.
The match between Johor Darul Ta'zim and Chelsea takes place at 7:00 PM on August 9th (Vietnam time).
