It's easy to be cynical about these gloried marketing exercises masquerading as crucial pre-season preparation, but when one sees the passion of the local self-described "hooligans", thing suddenly start making quite a bit of sense. They may not have been born SW6, or ever lived there, but these are some of the most knowledgeable and some of the most ardent supporters you will ever meet.
Spirits running high in SoCal. pic.twitter.com/o95bvjQ1Mw
— Dávid Pásztor (@D_Peezy) July 27, 2016
They — and their counterparts of the Liverpool persuasion — will be out in force at the iconic Rose Bowl for this pre-season friendly. It's been almost a decade since Chelsea were last in Southern California; for many, this will be an occasion to cherish and remember for the next ten years.
Date / Time: Wednesday, July 27, 2016, 8:35pm PDT; 04:35 BST (next day); 9:05am IST (next day)
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, USA
Referee: Given the general level of MLS referees, don't expect anything great.
Forecast: Hot! Not quite Roosevelt E. Roosevelt hot, but close.
On TV: Chelsea TV, LFC TV (UK); ESPN, ESPN Deportes (USA); Sony ESPN (India); elsewhere
Streaming online: Chelsea TV, LFC TV (UK & other countries without TV rights); WatchESPN (USA)
Chelsea team news: Thirty players, not including N'Golo Kanté (vacation) and John Obi Mikel (Olympics) traveled to the USA. Other than Branislav Ivanovic (shoulder) and Kurt Zouma (ACL), all should be available and ready to impress in Antonio Conte's old-school/new-school 4-4-2/4-2-4.
This will be the first pre-season match action for Eden Hazard, Cesc Fàbregas, and César Azpilicueta (not counting the training exercise against Austrian fourth division opposition) — it will be interesting to see how they adapt to Conte's tactical ideas.
Liverpool team news: Injuries will keep new boy Joel Matip and veteran Lucas Leiva out, while youngster Joe Gomez is back in the treatment room following complications in his rehab from an ACL injury. Meanwhile, Mamadou Sakho, having been cleared of doping allegations, has been kicked off the preseason tour and sent home. His future at Anfield is very much in doubt.
It's been a busy summer for the Reds so far, spending big on young and proven Premier League talent in Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mané while getting rid of several veterans like Martin Škrtel, Kolo Touré, and Joe Allen. Surprisingly, young Jordon Ibe was moved on as well, for a cool £15m.
Previously: Plenty of history and a big rivalry between these two sides. Even Eden Hazard managed to show up for this occasion at the end of last season.