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

Due to the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we missed out on a trophy parade after winning the Champions League last season, and while we’re never going to get a “proper” victory celebration for it, parading it around the stadium ahead of tonight’s friendly is a fairly decent substitute for one. That the game itself is against Tottenham Hotspur just makes it all the more amusing.

Beyond that bit of overdue appreciation for the Heroes of Porto, this is also one of the squad’s last chances to get the preseason kinks out of the way (and perhaps one of the last chances for fringe players to impress and change minds). The new season starts in 10 days, while we have the UEFA Super Cup to contest against Villarreal before then as well (next Wednesday in fact).

Date / Time: Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 19.45 BST; 2:45pm EDT; 12:15am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Forecast: Dry and sunny and actually summer-like!

On TV: none
Streaming: Chelsea website & The 5th Stand App — the match also costs £7.99/$10.99 to watch, half of which will be donated to the charities. It’s always helpful to start the stream early, to avoid lag, server issues, and disappointment. Coverage begins 25 minutes prior to kick-off, with the trophy lap hopefully shown as well.

Chelsea team news: All the players are now back, including those who took part in finals of continental competitions, though it’s likely that this match will come too soon for them. The official website also confirmed that Ethan Ampadu has joined the group for the first time this summer after an unexplained extended absence.

Tuchel has been giving a decent share of minutes to fringe players and players likely to be going out on loan, though that might change now, with the season just around the corner. While there are plenty of decisions that need to be made regarding player futures, the priority now should be the actual competitions ahead.

Tottenham Hotspur team news: The big news at Spurs is Harry Kane pulling a Courtois on them this weekend and refusing to show up for training, which is quite amusing even if it does mean that Kane probably ends up going to Manchester City and making them an even greater favorite for the league title.

New head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is Spurs biggest summer signing. The only other new arrival thus far has been young Sevilla winger Bryan Gil, who arrived in a part-exchange deal for Erik Lamela. Veteran defender Toby Alderweireld has left the club as well; his replacement might be Cristian Romero from Atalanta, with a €55m deal reportedly agreed.

View from the enemy: Cartilage Free Captain

Previously: Some scenes from training and the friendly against Arsenal on Sunday.