Chelsea will lock horns with Bayer Leverkusen in a pre-season friendly fixture at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.
This fixture will be Chelsea’s first outing since they were crowned Club World Cup champions last month, putting PSG to the sword with a stunning 3-0 victory in the final.
Later this weekend, Enzo Maresca’s men will fulfil the second of two exhibition matches when they welcome AC Milan to West London on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues will then turn their attention towards their opening Premier League game of the season which will see them play host to London rivals Crystal Palace.
As for Bayer Leverkusen, they will also be looking to ramp up their preparations for the new season, having participated in four friendly fixtures so far.
Erik ten Hag's team also have competitive action to look forward to next weekend when they travel to Grossaspach in the DFB-Pokal.
How the bookies view it: Blues big favourites
Chelsea come into their opening pre-season fixture of the summer as short-priced 7/10 favourites on Boylesports.
Bayer Leverkusen are as big as 19/10 on Boylesports while an all square affair at Stamford Bridge has been chalked up at 3/1 with the same bookmaker. Alternatively, backing the visitors with a +1 handicap start holds appeal at 10/11 on Boylesports.
Head to head: History book dormant
Somewhat surprisingly, Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen have only previously crossed paths on two occasions, with the pair housed in the same group in the Champions League way back in 2011. Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge before losing the return match 2-1 at the BayArena.
Players to watch: Palmer to purr?
Cole Palmer bagged a brace in Chelsea’s aforementioned 3-0 win over PSG in last month’s Club World Cup final. Expect to see the Blues talisman at the head of the anytime goalscorer market should the bookmakers release prices for this fixture.
Patrik Schick ended last season in strong form for Bayer Leverkusen. If selected, the Czech forward should pose a threat to Chelsea’s backline at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.
Predicted line-ups
Chelsea have spent heavily again this summer, with Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro amongst those in contention to make their Stamford Bridge debuts in this friendly fixture.
Bayer Leverkusen have a relatively clean bill of health coming into this clash, with long-term injury victims Farid Alfa-Ruprecht and Martin Terrier the only reported absentees for the visitors.
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro
Bayer Leverkusen: Flekken; Tapsoba, Quansah, Hincapie; Arthur, Palacios, Andrich, Grimaldo; Tella, Tillman; Schick
Anything else catch the eye?
The bookmakers’ odds suggest that goals will flow at Stamford Bridge on Friday night, with BTTS and Over 2.5 Goals both as short as 1/3.
Instead, Over 3.5 Goals can be backed at 10/11 on Boylesports, and that could give punters a good run for their money.
A speculative punt on Over 3.5 Goals and the game to end in a draw also catches the eye at 13/2 on Boylesports.
GambleAware