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Chelsea will play their first match under new manager, Enzo Maresca, against Wrexham in front of an American crowd at Levi's Stadium.
Chelsea ended their recent Premier League campaign off strong, winning their last five matches to close out the 2023/24 season. Despite finishing in sixth place, the Blues saw their Europa League spot taken away after Manchester United won the FA Cup. Mauricio Pochettino soon made way for Enzo Maresca, and the former Leicester City manager will get to see his new squad in action on Wednesday night.
The Premier League giants will face Wrexham for the second straight pre-season. The Red Dragons earned back-to-back promotions in the last two years, and will start the 2024/25 season in League One. Wrexham will look to deliver a much better performance than last year when they suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat.
Here's 90min's guide to Chelsea vs Wrexham July 24.
Chelsea vs Wrexham H2H record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
Chelsea | Wrexham |
|---|---|
Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth - May 19, 2024 | Wrexham 1-1 Bournemouth - July 20, 2024 |
Brighton 1-2 Chelsea - May 15, 2024 | Hanley Town 1-5 Wrexham - July 13, 2024 |
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Chelsea - May 11, 2024 | Wrexham 2-1 Stockport - Apr. 27, 2024 |
Chelsea 5-0 West Ham - May 5, 2024 | Crewe Alexandra 0-3 - Apr. 20, 2024 |
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham - May 2, 2024 | Wrexham 6-0 Forest Green - Apr. 13, 2024 |
Country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United States | ESPN, ESPN+, iFollow, The 5th Stand App |
United Kingdom | Chelsea TV, The 5th Stand App |
Cole Palmer will be absent in Chelsea's first pre-season fixture. / JAVIER SORIANO/GettyImages
Chelsea will be without many of their key starters against Wrexham. Marc Cucurella, Cole Palmer, and Conor Gallagher are enjoying their time off after competing at Euro 2024 while Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are also still on break after this summer's Copa America. Plus, Gabriel Slonina was selected as a member of the USMNT's Olympic squad.
Other notable players missing are Trevoh Chalobah, Cesare Casadei, Romelu Lukaku, and Kepa Arrizabalaga. Omari Kellyman and Djorjde Petrovic were left out of the squad due to injury.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Wrexham ( 4-2-3-1 ): Sanchez; James, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Colwill; Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga; Madueke, Nkunku, Sterling; Guiu
Jacob Mendy will miss Wrexham's clash with Chelsea. / Matthew Ashton - AMA/GettyImages
The Red Dragons will still be without Paul Mullin (back injury) and Jacob Mendy (Achilles) as the two players work their way through recovery and back to match fitness. It is likely they will both miss the start of the 2024/25 season.
Fortunately, Anthony Forde will be available after making his return against Bournemouth.
Wrexham predicted lineup vs Chelsea (3-5-2): Okonkwo; Brunt, O'Connell, Cleworth; Bolton, Jones, Evans, Cannon, McClean; Dalby, Marriott
Even without many of their starters, Chelsea should still comfortably defeat Wrexham, especially since the Blues scored five against the side last summer. Plus, the Premier League team's new signings will look to make a statement as their new manager watches from the sideline.
The Red Dragons proved they are more than capable, though, of keeping it close this year after their draw against Bournemouth just last week.