Both Chelsea and AC Milan will play out their final pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon before the start of the new 2025/26 campaign.
The Blues come into this clash in high spirits having won the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) over the summer, beating the more fancied treble winners PSG in the final. They have strengthened their squad significantly since then, and we could see a number of new signings play for the Blues in front of their home crowd.
Milan have already beaten Premier League opposition in Liverpool 4-2 in pre-season, but did also lose 1-0 to Arsenal on their tour of Asia, although they triumphed in the penalty shootout after. The Rossoneri are hoping to improve on what was a poor 2024/25 season by their usual high standards, finishing in eighth place in Serie A and thus failing to qualify for any European football.
Chelsea have had the better of the H2Hs in recent times, winning the last four meetings in all competitions. Nonetheless, the Blues will be aiming to make it five victories in a row on home soil.
How the bookies view it: Chelsea odds-on favourites to win
BoyleSports have Chelsea as 20/23 odds-on favourites to win this one. A draw can be backed at 11/4 odds with the same bookmaker, while a Milan victory away from home is priced at 17/10 odds.
Recent head-to-head: Chelsea claim Champions League victory
The last meeting between the two sides was in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) in 2022 at San Siro. Chelsea won 2-0 thanks to goals from Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, both of whom have since left the club.
Players to watch: Some interesting defenders on show
With the news that Levi Colwill has unfortunately suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury and so will likely miss the majority of the season, Chelsea could throw in new signing Jorrel Hato at the deep end.
Malick Thiaw has reportedly been the subject of strong interest from Chelsea's Premier League rivals Newcastle, but Milan would ideally like to keep hold of him beyond the end of the window.
Predicted lineups
Colwill joins Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Enzo Fernandez among the treatment table for Chelsea, while Nicolas Jackson is thought to be training alone amid speculation that he could leave the Blues in the coming weeks.
Milan have no fresh injury concerns to report, although new signing Luka Modric may have to wait for his full debut for the Rossoneri.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Gittens, Pedro.
AC Milan: Maignan; Tomori, Thiaw, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Ricci, Fofana, Pulisic, Bartesaghi; Loftus-Cheek, Leao.
Anything else catch the eye?
Odds for a Chelsea win are too short for our liking, but we are willing to back a Blues victory with a -1 handicap at 12/5 odds with BoyleSports. Three of Chelsea's last four H2H wins have also been to nil, and the same bookmaker is offering 17/10 odds to not see both teams score.
BoyleSports are also offering 6/4 odds for Chelsea to be leading at HT, which we feel is rather generous.
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