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Chelsea’s first ever top-flight match. Chelsea’s first ever cup final. Both losses.
To Sheffield United.
Former United goalkeeper William “Fatty” Foulke, larger than life legend, literally, was in goal for the former, a 4-2 loss at Stamford Bridge. Eight years later, in 1915, the two captains shook hands before kick-off at Old Trafford (pictured above). The 3-0 loss for the Blues would be the last official fixture held for five years due to World War I.
History has seen 78 more meetings between the two sides, but only 2 since 1994 and none since 2007. Now it’s Sheffield United who are the upstarts. It’s time for a rekindling. We even get a traditional 3pm Saturday afternoon kick-off!
Date / Time: Saturday, August 31, 2019, 15:00 BST; 10am EDT; 7:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Forecast: Breezy but sunny
Referee: Stuart Attwell — just the fourth Chelsea match for young Mr. Attwell, and only the second in the Premier League after last season’s 2-1 away win against Brighton.
On TV: none (UK); NBCSN (USA); none? (India); elsewhere
Streaming: NBC Sports Live, Universo Now (USA); Chelsea TV (int’l — audio only)
Chelsea team news: Having been dealing with various injury issues since the summer, Chelsea will be hoping to get much closer to fully fit during the international break. The likes of N’Golo Kanté and Pedro have been added to the injury list recently (or re-added in Kanté’s case), even as Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi returned to training. Willian could be fit to start, especially if Pedro’s forced to miss time after his hamstring injury last weekend.
Chelsea got Lampard his first win as head coach after three winless in all competitions last weekend; now the obvious goal is to build on that game by game, goal by goal, win by win.
Sheffield United team news: Back in the big time after more than a decade in the second and third divisions, United will be hoping for a longer stay than their last such promotion, in 2006. Keyed by a few smart summer signings, the Blades are off to a decent start in that regard, with 4 points in the first three games. They also beat Blackburn Rovers midweek to advance to the third round of the League Cup.
They split the season series with Lampard’s Derby last year, with each team winning their home game. Club record signing Oli McBurnie (£20m) is in line to make his first Premier League start for the club.
Previously: Shevchenko scored a great goal as Chelsea beat Sheffield United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in March 2007.