Chelsea’s penultimate pre-season fixture sees them travel to Austria to take on 13 time league champions Red Bull Salzburg. Frank Lampard will be looking to decide on his main starting eleven and this maybe the first fixture where he plays as close to full strength as he can.

Chelsea team news

N’golo Kante is back in training and may feature for the first time since Baku and Willian has returned after his extended break due to winning the Copa America with Brazil. Kepa Arrizabalaga is expected to start in goal after only featuring against Barcelona, and Alonso and Emerson should both see 45 minutes each as the decision on who has the starting left back berth, goes on. Chelsea fans should keep a close eye on Kenedy, as he has brought himself back into contention for a place in Lampard’s squad due to lively performances. Another decent showing from him tomorrow may see him kept until at least January. Tiemoue Bakayoko and Fikayo Tomori, who are both linked with loan moves to Everton, could feature for the final time in a blues shirt this season.

Salzburg team new

Like the blues, the Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg have had a change of management over the summer, as successful and innovative coach Marco Rose left for Chelsea’s next opponents, Borussia Mönchengladbach. His replacement has come from within the red bull empire, as Jesse Marsch was plucked from his assistant manager role at RB Leipzig. The American has plenty of managerial experience in his homeland, however this is his first time as the top dog in Europe. In terms of players to watch out for, the centre midfield partnership of Diadie Samassékou and Dominik Szoboszlai is very strong and will give Chelsea a strong midfield battle, which will be excellent practice for Paul Pogba and co.

Predictions

This could be Chelsea’s hardest test so far considering how far their opponents are in terms of season preparation. It will also allow the coaching staff a chance to evaluate certain positions that haven’t got a clear starter in them. Frank Lampard will be investing a lot of interest into his sides defensive phase, especially defending set pieces, after their previous game and it will be interesting to see if any noticeable changes have been made. My prediction is Chelsea 2-1 Salzburg. Kick-off is at 15:00 GMT 31/07/19 and is only available on the Chelsea 5th stand app for £1.99, in the U.K and Ireland.

Predicted 11: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Kenedy, Barkley, Pulisic, Giroud