World champions Chelsea will play their penultimate pre-season friendly on Friday against visitors Bayer Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues' previous match was their 3-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final on July 13, whereas Leverkusen beat Pisa 3-0 on August 5.
Match preview
Chelsea's performance against PSG will have provided boss Enzo Maresca confidence ahead of 2025-26 considering many saw the Champions League winners as the best team in the world, but the Blues netted three first-half goals and prevented the French side from producing a single big chance in the first 45 minutes.
There are fears amongst supporters that the Club World Cup could negatively impact their upcoming campaign given Mareca's players have spent more time in action than their domestic rivals.
Chelsea finished fifth in the Premier League last term with 69 points - six more than in 2023-24 - and they only totalled five points fewer than second-placed Arsenal.
Having scored 64 goals and conceded on 43 occasions, the Londoners ended the campaign as the top flight's joint seventh best offensive and third best defensive side, with champions Liverpool conceding just two times fewer.
The Blues' record in the closing months of 2024-25 was outstanding considering they enter Friday's game having won 14 of their last 16 games, suffering two defeats in that period.
A win against Leverkusen would also extend their winning streak at Stamford Bridge to five matches, and it would be their 11th victory in 13 home outings.
Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer 04 Leverkusen during the DFL-Super Cup match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at BayArena on August 17, 2024 [on August 21, 2024]
The German visitors endured a difficult 2024-25, with Bayern Munich taking their Bundesliga crown, finishing 23 points behind the Bavarians.
Leverkusen regressed in all categories last term, with their tallies of 72 goals scored and 43 conceded in the league 17 fewer and 19 more than what they managed in 2023-24.
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was brought in as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, who left the club to become head coach of Real Madrid.
Stars such as Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka have also left Die Schwarzroten this summer, significantly weakening the squad.
Ten Hag has led his side out in four pre-season friendlies, and while they lost 5-1 in their first against a Flamengo youth team on July 18, they have since won three times, scoring seven and conceding one.
Leverkusen avoided defeat in their last four away fixtures of 2024-25, but they were forced to settle for stalemates on three occasions.
Chelsea form (all competitions):
W
W
W
W
W
W
Bayer Leverkusen Club Friendlies form:
Team News
Chelsea's Joao Pedro pictured in July 2025
The Londoners have continued to spend heavily, with their total outlay close to £250m on eight players, and perhaps siging Joao Pedro will make his home debut.
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez were stalwarts in the middle of the park last season, and they will want to build fitness ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Reece James is likely to captain the side, and he could form part of a back four alongside Nathaniel Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella.
Chelsea's opponents will hope that newcomer Malik Tillman can make his debut in one of two supporting roles behind striker Christian Kofane.
In the absence of Xhaka, experienced midfielders Exequiel Palacios and Robert Andrich are strong contenders to feature.
Signing Jarell Quansah could start in the middle of a back three, stationed in defence with Piero Hincapie and Edmond Tapsoba.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Tapsoba, Quansah, Hincapie; Arthur, Palacios, Andrich, Grimaldo; Tella, Tillman; Kofane
SM words green background
We say: Chelsea 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Chelsea will be buoyed by their home crowd, and by their Club World Cup triumph, so perhaps their new stars will impress in the first half.
Leverkusen will likely be ahead of Chelsea in their preparations for the coming season, and they could take advantage in the second half when the Blues tire.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
ID:578716:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8902:
No Data Analysis info
Previews by email
Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!