Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Chelsea are preparing for their third official pre-season friendly of the summer on Wednesday, taking on Juventus at the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong.
The Blues come into the game having beaten Crawley and Bromley behind closed doors, before getting the better of Western Sydney. But Chelsea’s first real test came against Tottenham, and it is one they lost.
Asmir Begovic's Chelsea XI for Fulham away
Asmir Begovic's Chelsea XI for Fulham away
Of course, this is only pre-season. But Xabi Alonso is under the microscope, even more so because the club has already spent £335m on new signings. Pep Chavarria’s arrival will take that north of £350m.
Players have returned for the trip to Hong Kong, with Danny Welbeck, Mykhailo Mudryk, Mike Penders, Geovany Quenda and other stars available for the first time. But will Chelsea face Kerim Alajbegovic?
Juventus team news as Kerim Alajbegovic to miss Chelsea clash
Juventus are in action for a fourth time this summer, having already faced Basel, Standard Liege and OGC Nice. After a stuttering draw against Basel, Juventus have since beaten Liege and Nice without conceding.
Spalletti is hoping to form a title challenge at Juventus this summer. Randal Kolo Muani, Zeki Celik and Jeff Ekhator have all joined the club this summer, as has Lois Openda, though he has joined Lyon on loan.
Kerim Alajbegovic before Bosnia and Herzegovina match
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
But for Chelsea fans, the first name in Juve’s squad that jumps off the page is Alajbegovic. Chelsea were close to signing the 18-year-old from Leverkusen, only for Juventus to hijack a move very late on.
Alajbegovic won’t feature, with the game coming too early for the Bosnia star. The same goes for Kolo Muani, and returning World Cup stars Weston McKennie and Francisco Conceicao, also a Chelsea target.
Who is expected to start for Juventus today?
Kenan Yildiz, Gleison Bremer and Jonathan David are all expected to feature in some degree, though they are unlikely to start after recently returning to training. The trio played in a training match on Tuesday.
Split image - Chelsea unveil new signing Jordan Henderson and Granit Xhaka of Sunderland applauds
Split image - Chelsea unveil new signing Jordan Henderson and Granit Xhaka of Sunderland applauds
Juventus will start with Manuel Locatelli and Douglas Luiz in the middle of the park. Luiz was strongly linked with Chelsea in January, but he joined Aston Villa and has since returned to Juventus this summer.
Andrea Cambiaso, another player recently linked with Chelsea, is set to start as per TuttoMercatoWeb, while Arkadiusz Milik will lead the line for the Old Lady. Englishman Lloyd Kelly will start in defence.