Barcelona vs. Chelsea, Preseason fakery: Preview; How to watch

If this seems like a tremendously short and tremendously busy and tremendously challenging preseason to you, you're not alone.

"It's the best training session we could have. The game against Paris was a very good one; against Barcelona it can be an even better one."

"I'm not worried with tactical aspects, and I'm not worried with the result. I'm just worried about the possibility to play at a higher intensity and prepare ourselves for the Premier League. I need to give players minutes. I need to give players different experiences, playing with each other and also playing in different positions. It's just about preparation. Obviously nobody likes to lose even in training but if we wanted to win we would choose opponents where we could win easily."

"This time, because we have a short pre-season and not a long time to be ready for the Premier League, we decided to play proper opponents and have proper training matches to raise the level."

-Jose Mourinho; source: Chelsea FC

It may be a fake preseason, but in many ways, it's quite real.  And it's getting ever real-er as it approaches its sharp end, with a match against the European Champions tonight, followed by the Community Shield on the weekend, followed by the awkward friendly against Fiorentina next week at the Bridge and then the season will be here.  Not sure when we're supposed to take a breath.  The season itself might seem quite boring at this rate.

Date / Time: Tuesday, July 28, 2015, 8pm EDT; 1am BST (next day); 5:30am IST (next day)

Venue: FedEx Field, Washington DC, USA

Forecast: Sunny, hot, humid.  DC in the summer is a terrible place to be.

On TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK); Fox Sports 2, ESPN Deportes (USA); Star Sports 4 / HD 4 (India); elsewhere

Online: Sky Go, Chelsea TV (UK); Fox Sports 2Go, Watch ESPN (USA)

Barcelona Team News: Barca have not had anywhere near a full-strength side to call upon in their first two preseason matches, and they will remain without major stars Neymar, Messi, Mascherano, Dani Alves, as well as backup goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.  They've also had some injury concerns, with the likes of Pedro, Douglas, and Rafinha having to take it easy.

Chelsea Team News: Chances are, we'll see more minutes for our Copa America trio tonight, including perhaps a start for Falcao.  There are also several members of the travelling squad who have yet to see too much meaningful action, including Nathaniel Chalobah, Jake Clarke-Salter, Dom Solanke, and Kenedy, whose status is a complete mystery.  Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Bertrand Traoré, and Ola Aina did not feature either against Paris Saint-Germain after getting 45 minutes each against NY Red Bulls.

View From The Enemy: Barca Blaugranes

Previously: As we saw against PSG, all the talk about friendlies and training exercises can get thrown out the window once the referee blows the whistle and the clock starts running.  The two teams have not met since Fernando Torres's goalgasm.