Enzo Maresca's Chelsea are set to play Serie A champions Inter Milan in a pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The home side finished sixth in the Premier League last term with 63 points from 38 games, while the visitors won the Italian top flight with 94 points from 38 matches.
Match preview
This is Chelsea's final friendly before they play title winners Manchester City in their opening game of the 2024-25 Premier League season on August 18.
Despite a strong end to the Premier League season, in which Chelsea won their last five fixtures and lost just once in their last 15 top-flight games, manager Mauricio Pochettino was dismissed at the end of the season.
Leicester City boss Maresca was appointed in place of Pochettino, with promises of an attractive style of football akin to that of Pep Guardiola.
However, if pre-season results are anything to go by, then fans will need to be patient while the players adapt to Maresca's system.
Chelsea have only won one of their five friendly matches so far and were beaten 4-2 by Manchester City on August 3.
Maresca himself has noted that his side have been defensively vulnerable, and has publicly stated he is trying to mitigate these issues by positioning the Blues' defensive line somewhat deeper.
More positively, the Blues have been strongly linked with Wolves star Pedro Neto, and his signature would complement the creativity of Cole Palmer in the forward line.
Opponents Inter won their second title in four seasons last term, and this match against Chelsea is their final game before they begin their 2024-25 Serie A campaign against Genoa on August 17.
In truth, the Nerazzurri ran away with the league title in 2023-24 and finished 19 points clear of second-placed AC Milan, as well as 41 points clear of 2022-23 title-winners Napoli.
Simone Inzaghi's side scored 89 goals and conceded 22 times, and this made them the division's best offensive and defensive team.
Inter were also excellent away from home in the league last term and in fact only lost once on the road in Serie A.
Inzaghi's side have won three, drawn one and lost one of their five pre-season fixtures so far, including a 2-0 defeat against Al Ittihad last time out on August 7.
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Team News
Chelsea come into the clash without Axel Disasi due to a groin injury, and he is not expected to return until early September.
Nicolas Jackson is a doubt for the game as a result of a sprained ankle, while Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella could miss out because the pair lack match fitness following their return from Euro 2024.
As for the visitors, defender Stefan de Vrij is suffering from muscle discomfort in his left hamstring and is likely to miss out.
Elsewhere, Inter could be without Mehdi Taremi, Piotr Zielinski and Tajon Buchanan until late August.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; James, Colwill, Badiashile, Gusto; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Nkunku, Sterling; Guiu
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Frattesi, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
We say: Chelsea 1-3 Inter Milan
Chelsea have demonstrated that they still have a lot of work to do defensively, and it would be unsurprising to see them concede chances after losing the ball in build-up.
Additionally, while Neto would enhance their attacking firepower, he has not yet signed, and the Blues could struggle if Palmer does not start.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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