Chelsea vs. Inter Milan, Preseason Friendly: Preview, team news, how to watch

Chelsea’s overstuffed preseason programme comes to a close this weekend with a final friendly, this time right at home at the Bridge against Inter Milan. In contrast to Chelsea’s jet-setting gallivanting of dubious competitive and (judging by half-empty stadiums) commercial benefit around the United States, this will be Inter’s first and only preseason match of the five scheduled that will be outside Italy.

The US Tour may have raised more questions and concerns than answers and reassurances it may have provided, but Enzo Maresca is hoping to end the preseason on a good note and start building a good relationship with the fans.

“Finally, we are at home and with our fans and we need them throughout the season. They are going to be very important for us and the players because in these moments we need support. We are going to enjoy it together.”

“I always try to build a good relationship with the supporters, especially because when we are at home they can be the twelfth player for us. We need them pushing and behind us. We will try to do our best to help them enjoy the game and share the joy.”

-Enzo Maresca; source: Chelsea FC

Date / Time: Sunday, August 11, 2024, 15.00 BST; 10am EDT; 7:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Forecast: very warm

On TV: none (US/UK); elsewhere
Streaming: Chelsea TV (UK/international; £4.99/$6.49 LOL); Inter TV (international; free?)

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea team news: It’s not been a great preseason by any stretch of the imagination, but we survive a US Tour without any new injuries, so that’s a solid win already. Nicolas Jackson and Axel Disasi still have yet to feature however, and it seems unlikely that they would be fit for the start of the season in a week’s time.

Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella have now returned from their extended post-Euros summer holidays, while soon-to-be new signing Pedro Neto might be official by the time this game kicks off as well. In less heart-warming news, Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja have both been sent down to the reserves as the club look to push them out before the end of the window.

Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images

Inter Milan team news: Inter collected their 20th league title last season, moving one ahead of great rivals AC Milan by winning the Serie A for the second time in the last four years. Inter can now add a second star to their badge.

Otherwise, it’s been a quiet summer. Three key players who were there only on loan have now been converted to actual transfers, including Davide Frattesi, Carlos Augusto, and Marko Arnautović. They have also added veteran winger Mehdi Taremi to the mix — we might remember that Champions League Goal of the Season-winning goal he once scored against us! — while other veterans Alexis Sánchez, Juan Cuadrado, Davy Klaassen have left.

Perhaps most importantly, head coach Simone Inzaghi and leading goalscorer Lautaro Martínez are still with the team, with the latter expected to sign a new contract extension soon as well.

Previously: This is our first preseason friendly at Stamford Bridge since 2018, when we played a scoreless draw against Olympique Lyonnais. Incidentally, that summer is also the last time we played Inter, in a friendly staged in Nice, France of all places. Our last competitive match against Inter now feels a lifetime ago, in the Round of 16 of the 2009-10 Champions League, when José Mourinho was in charge of them (and they’d go on to win it all) and Carlo Ancelotti managed the Blues (and we’d go on to win the league). Those were the days my friends, we thought they’d never end.