The Blues will travel to Slovenia to take on NK Olimpija Ljubljana on Sunday, July 27. The match will kickoff from Stozice Stadium at 8:15 AM PST (11:15 EST).
Chelsea remained unbeaten in their 2014 preseason campaign, after a Jeremie Boga goal in the 83rd minute rescued the Blues against RZ Pellets. Jose Mourinho had more of his regulars available, but it still wasn’t quite the team that will take the field once the Premier League season rolls around.
Chelsea Team News:
Newly signed defender Filipe Luis played just shy of 60 minutes against RZ, and more importantly, looked very comfortable alongside John Terry. It is very possible that we will see the other two big signings, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas appear on Sunday in Slovenia.
Petr Cech made his first appearance of the preseason in net on Wednesday. The big question is still looming though. Will Cech or Thibaut Courtois man the goal for Chelsea next month? Mourinho is left with a big decision and it could ultimately cause dissension between the two goalkeepers, as Cech has made it clear that he wants to remain in goal.
Boga remained in fine form, scoring another goal for the Blues in their previous match. The Chelsea boss will face another difficult decision with Boga and Izzy Brown. Both youngsters have been phenomenal this summer and could certainly push to remain in the team for the upcoming season. The London side have sometimes lacked that spark off of the bench and these players would certainly offer that quality.
The big news of the week has to be the return of Didier Drogba to the Bridge. The Ivorian has always been in favor with Mourinho, not to mention a fan favorite. It’s not expected that Drogba will play a great deal this season, but the 36 year old still provides a spark in the attack.
Olimpija Ljubljana Team News:
Ljubljana have played in Slovenia’s top flight of football for the past five seasons. The team finished in seventh place this past season, but played in the Europa League. They were eliminated in the second qualifying round by Slovakian side MSK Zilina.
Match Prediction:
The Blues will likely have more of their squad for the match against Olimpija Ljubljana. Just like the rest of the opponents this summer, Chelsea are far superior. With less than a month until their opening Premier League against Burnley, look for Mourinho to start getting his lineup set in the near future. He won’t be at full strength in this fixture, but I expect the team to handle Olimpija. Look for the Blues to defeat their Slovenian opposition 3-0.
TV Schedule:
This match will not be televised in the United States. For all other regions check http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1220043/olimpija-vs-chelsea/
