Chelsea vs AC Milan – Match preview and team news

Chelsea is set to travel to Indonesia for a pre-season friendly match against AC Milan on Saturday, 8th August. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1pm BST at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia. Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is facing selection challenges due to a depleted squad following the World Cup. Several key players, including Enzo Fernández, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Jordan Henderson, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers, and Valentín Barco, are unavailable, while Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, and Mykhailo Mudryk are expected to return from minor injuries. Trevoh Chalobah is left out as he nears a permanent transfer away from Chelsea.

On the other side, AC Milan will be missing Christian Pulisic, who is out with a persistent thigh injury, and newly signed defender Mario Gila, who is injured and unavailable. Despite these setbacks, Christopher Nkunku is fit and expected to play a significant role after scoring the equalizer against Inter Milan in their previous game.

To manage player workloads after a rapid turnaround from a tough Milan derby, AC Milan manager Rúben Amorim is likely to rotate his starting eleven, potentially giving starts to Luka Modrić and Gonçalo Ramos.

Chelsea's recent pre-season form has been inconsistent, with a win against Western Sydney Wanderers followed by consecutive losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus. AC Milan has had a more mixed summer tour, with a 2-2 draw against Celtic and a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan, courtesy of Christopher Nkunku's equalizer.