Chelsea will contend their second pre-season game against MLS side Charlotte in North Carolina.

The Blues could give debuts to new summer acquisitions Raheem Sterling aswell as potentially Kalidou Koulibaly following their 2-1 win against Club America on Saturday; Timo Werner and Mason Mount scoring there.

Sterling sat out that victory after linking up with his new team-mates late while Koulibaly’s move only went through the day before the game. But the two now have the chance to earn their first unofficial minutes for Chelsea on Wednesday, ahead of a showdown with London rivals Arsenal in Florida this weekend.

The match is being held at the 75,000-capacity Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, with kick-off at 12:30am UK time (Thursday morning).

Chelsea Team News :

Chelsea will be without Armando Broja, Billy Gilmour and Tino Anjorin after the youngsters’ omission from the touring squad. Broja is thought to have picked up a knock, whilst short-term futures of Gilmour and Anjorin remain unclear.

N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are likewiseunavailable, having not travelled to the United States due to their Covid vaccination status.

Connor Gallagher, Ethan Ampadu and Michy Batshuayi are among the players to receive praise for their pre-season performances so far from manager Thomas Tuchel, and will likely be in line for more minutes here.

Gallagher in particular was lively against Club America, in his bid to prove he is capable of playing an important role in Chelsea’s upcoming campaign. 

Possible line-up : (3-4-3): Mendy; Chalobah, Ampadu, Sarr, James, Gallagher, Kovacic, Chillwell; Mount, Havertz, Werner.