Chelsea will finish their pre-season preparations tonight (Wednesday) with our fourth and final friendly in the International Champions Cup.
Mourinho will be hoping to pick up our first win inside 90 minutes in this years pre-season to give us a confidence boost going into our opener in the Premier League against Swansea City on Saturday. However the most important thing is gain more match fitness and sharpness for the upcoming Premier League season; something we lacked at the weekend against Arsenal.
Pre-season so far has seen us lose to New York Red Bulls and draw with PSG and Barcelona after 90 minutes. However we later went on to beat both PSG and Barcelona on penalties.
Match Details
Wednesday, 5th August, 8PM (UK Time) at Stamford Bridge
Team News
Diego Costa missed the Community Shield at the weekend due to a reoccurring hamstring problem he felt in training the day before the game. He may not be risked tonight but at the same time Mourinho might want to give him minutes to gain fitness before Saturday’s opener.
Mourinho confirmed in his press conference after our defeat in the Community Shield to Arsenal that Radamel Falcao will start tonight against Fiorentina. However Remy is still likely to play a half in order to gain more fitness and improve on his performance from Sunday.
‘The special one’ may also look to give Cuadrado minutes after he’s had a smaller pre-season than the rest of the squad due to his International commitments. Likewise with Willian, however he seems to be fitter than Cuadrado as he played the full 90 minutes against Arsenal on Sunday.
Tonight’s game is purely to gain extra match fitness and sharpness ahead of the start of the Premier League campaign. It will also be the last chance for Mourinho to put the final touches on his squad in a match situation before our opener.
Our opponent, Fiorentina will be heading into the game after defeating Barcelona 2-1 at the weekend.
Their new signing Mario Suarez may start after completing his move from Atletico Madrid last week. Giuseppe Rossi has recently returned from injury and he’s likely to be eased back into the side rather than given a starting role.
Next Match – Chelsea vs Swansea
Premier League – Saturday, 8th August, 5:30PM (UK Time) at Stamford Bridge