Strike

di matteo wont dare drop Lampard this season.. whichever way you look at it, oscar is being groomed for a future CM role. Maybe they will ease him in this season but the number of CM's in the squad is alarming - Oscar, Lampard, Mikel, Meireles, Essien, Romeu, McEachran, de Bruyne while Ramires, Mata, Benayoun and Hazard can all play there if needed Imo, Essien should be sold and McEachran should be loaned while de Bruyne gives cover for the wingers and CM's. Oscar, Lampard, Mikel, Meireles and Romeu should be the CM choices. I don't think we will play Ramires in the middle. Ramires will be on the right and looking at the squad right now, he is the only player at RM. Marin prefers the left wing while Hazard is comfortable at LM and CAM. I think di Matteo will stretch Hazard's versatility by playing him on the right and thereby relegating Ramires to the bench. Torres Marin Mata Hazard Oscar/Lampard Mikel

Haha Marko Marin lol

no ibra is NOT starting. its been almost confirmed.

sales will be made. di Matteo said -"We are assessing the situation and I will speak to the player later this week" on Malouda and I think that's the professional way of giving Malouda the GTFO

Monday morning

Agree with the predictions as long as United sign Modric/Moutinho/RVP. City maybe a wildcard this time around. they may yet make an addition to the squad and make it even better but i agree fergie will get united through Chelsea are a work in progress and anyone "EXPECTING" a title win is being unrealistic

Good choice for a pre-season friendly

No-one to initiate the transition to attack. Mikel is sitting deep but the ball isn't being directed anywhere.

is josh McEachran the solution to our creative midfield problems? brilliant start by the youngster

lol. i dont think mikel would mind

ivanovic is the captain tonight

its not fair. i have even this game at 6 in the morning

Barely 2 months after the greatest triumph in the club’s history, it’s back to business for Chelsea Football Club as it enters a new era under ‘permanent’ manager Roberto di Matteo. A busy summer of transition saw a Chelsea legend leave the club to the Far East but with exciting young players coming into the ageing squad, the new season looks promising for Chelsea as it begins its pre-season tour of America with a game against Seattle Sounders. Opposition Views It’s not every year that Champions League winners visit Seattle yet that is what will happen tonight when Seattle Sounders host Chelsea. Chelsea’s fifth visit to Seattle marks another chapter in the growing history between the two clubs which began back in 1967 when the Blues defeated a Seattle amateur’s team 5-0 at the Memorial Stadium. The Blues last appearance against the Sounders was in 2009, when they received goals from Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard in a 2-0 win over the Sounders. Since then, Chelsea have added the Premier League(2010), 2 FA Cups and the elusive Champions League to its trophy cabinet. Meanwhile Seattle have elevated themselves to being Championship contenders and have also won the US Open Cup thrice in ‘09, ‘10 and ‘11. They play Sporting Kansas City next month in this year’s final. The friendly will also bring on an unexpected farewell for Seattle, as forward Roger Levesque has decided the match against Chelsea will be his last as he will attempt to further his educations according to The Seattle Times. According to few Seattle fans, Fredy Montero hasn’t been great this season. Hopefully, it continues tomorrow as the Chelsea defence needs to cope up with Eddie Johnson (ex-Fulham) as well .Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid will have a full squad at his disposal except long-term absentee David Estrada. Roberto di Matteo on Seattle Sounders and MLS Chelsea News Rectifying a lowly 6th position in the league last season will be the priority as di Matteo attempts to infuse the new Chelsea with a bed-rock of senior players – (Cech, Terry, Cole, Lampard) The loss of Drogba (Kalou and Bosingwa as well) was eased by the arrival of the hottest property in Europe – Eden Hazard while Marko Marin was also signed from Werder Bremen. Yossi Benayoun, Josh McEachran and Kevin de Bruyne returned from loan spells to swell the Chelsea squad left thread-bare by Olympic participants Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu, Ryan Bertrand, Daniel Sturridge and (Oscar). John Terry is set to join the team this weekend after being cleared of racial abuse charges during the summer while Gary Cahill has recovered from a jaw injury that ruled him out of the Euros. The younger players in the squad will be put up for trial in the pre-season games. Lucas Piazon, Josh McEachran, Todd Kane and Patrick Bamford have the chance to prove their mettle and possibly push for a place in the squad. Line-up Assuming that di Matteo continues with the 4-2-3-1, expect di Matteo to fiddle around with the team tonight. Probables Lukaku Marin Hazard Ramires Lampard Mikel Fereira Cahill Luiz Ivanovic Cech It will be interesting to see how new signings Hazard and Marin blend. The roles of seniors Frank Lampard and Michael Essien will be cleared up in the pre-season while Fereira might have to cover for Ashley Cole at Left-Back Seattle Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid Players to Watch Seattle - Eddie Johnson - He may have been goal-less for Fulham (and Preston for that matter) but expect him to stretch Cahill and Luiz in the Chelsea defence. Chelsea - Eden Hazard - Considered the hottest property in Europe, he has the ability to be a truly great player. It will be intriguing to see his first game in a Chelsea shirt. Foot Notes Literally rolling the Green Carpet! - The Sounders have replaced their home stadium’s usual turf surface with a full natural grass playing field Stability - There are nine players on Chelsea's team who played in the 2009 friendly in Seattle. Four players even remain from the 2004 squad that beat Celtic FC, 4-2, here in an exhibition: midfielder Frank Lampard, goalkeeper Petr Cech, and defenders John Terry and Paulo Ferreira. Chelsea’s record in Seattle Year Opponent Score 1967 Local amateurs 5-0 1977 Sounders (NASL) 0-2 2004 Celtic FC 4-2 2009 Sounders FC 2-0 2012 Sounders FC -- The boring summer is ending. Sit back and enjoy the first game of a new era at Chelsea Football Club Kickoff – July 18 – 9:30 pm EDT, July 19 – 2:30 am BST Venue – Century Fields, Seattle How to watch? Chelsea TV, ESPN 2(USA) Click here to view the article

better than Hilario and turnbull although its hard to be worse than those 2

i am still skeptical about the transformation. won't believe it till it happens. as of now, we have added only Hazard and Marin...

respect Arsenal's style of play and usually when Arsenal face Spurs i end up supporting arsenal.although that may change now that van Persie is (almost) out

why am i not surprised...

there is a story running on their main site about Oscar deal. maybe that was it

scored in an FA Cup final as well. beautiful penalty at that. Luiz-esqueBut he approaches the ball at an angle and it it is a give away to the keeper because if he goes to the keeper's left, he should wrap the foot around the ball and to the keeper's right, he should slide it away. players who come straight are better imo

Stupid deal this. Hope its not true.

fully agree (and surprised that you didn't mention Afonso Alves )

its not 60 mil for Cavani alone mate. its 35-25 on Cavani and Oscar

the problem is his consistent ability to run out of space and yet not pass

not really sure why we are after cavani when he is an out and out striker. i would rather go for a converted striker who plays on the wings. the squad is inflated as it is.

welcome to tc mate if you think hulk is not the man we should sign, who should it be? there are so few quality wingers available in the market and to get Hulk we have to pay.