Bohemians vs. Chelsea, Friendly: Preview, team news, how to watch

Frank Lampard’s first game in charge of Chelsea is here, though it’s just a preseason friendly and no one really remembers those outside of Wikipedia. But let the records show that the Lampard Era took its first tentative steps over on the green grass of Dalymount Park, home of the Bohs.

It’s the second consecutive season that the Chelsea first-team have journeyed across the Irish Sea for a preseason match, but the first against actual local opposition since a charity match in Omagh in 1999 and a tour of both sides of the island in 1992. In the summer of 1991, Chelsea actually faced Bohemians themselves, winning 2-0.

Despite relatively high tickets prices (charging twice the usual €15 admission), a sold-out crowd of nearly 3500 will await the Blues, who have also been granted use of the home dressing room due to the large support staff that apparently would have no hope of fitting into the tiny away dressing room.

Date / Time: Wednesday, July 10, 2019, 19:45 BST; 2:45pm EDT; 12:15am IST (next day)
Venue: Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Forecast: Warm rain

On TV: none — Chelsea TV is now online/app-only
Streaming online: Chelsea TV (£10.99 for the entire preseason on the website) or the 5th Stand app (£1.99 per game). If you had a Chelsea TV subscription last season, the games should still be available to you for free. In the UK/Ireland, all 7 preseason games will be available on Chelsea TV. Globally, the rights for the games against Kawasaki Frontale, Barcelona, RB Salzburg, and Borussia Mönchengladbach might belong to other rights-holders and thus might not be available through Chelsea TV.

Bohemians team news: Bohs are in the middle of their league season and currently sit third after finishing just sixth last season. But they have a free weekend, so manager Keith Long has promised a strong side, including young 20-year-old rising star Danny Mandroiu who was signed form Brighton’s academy in January and was voted Player of the Month for June in the League of Ireland. Goalkeeper James Talbot was recently called up to the national team, while defender Darragh Leahy has been a mainstay for the U21 Irish side. Another rising star just misses out: Ali Reghba joined Leicester City’s Development Squad last week.

Chelsea team news: From the 21 players, training camp expanded to 35 strong on Monday, but presumably Lampard will choose mostly from that initial set of players. So expect a good mix of youngsters, loanees, and the odd first-team veteran. Chelsea are expected to whittle down numbers in camp to a more manageable total after this game.

Previously: Some preseason training highlights.