Chelsea are playing two friendlies in two different countries in the space of just 24 hours as their hectic pre-season tour schedule concludes this weekend.
Xabi Alonso’s side first face Serie A giants AC Milan on Saturday afternoon at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, before quickly travelling to take on Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium a day later. Both matches kick off at 1pm BST.
Chelsea’s frantic finish to their trip to Australia and Asia comes after they have already played three matches in two countries over the last two weeks.
The Blues were then beaten 1-0 by Juventus at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on Wednesday, before travelling to Indonesia for the first instalment of this weekend’s friendly double-header.
Alonso admits that Chelsea’s helter-skelter tour – which comes a year after their successful Club World Cup campaign in the United States last summer – has not been ideal preparation for the new Premier League season, especially with so many key players returning at different times following their post-World Cup breaks.
However, upon their return to London next week, they will enjoy some much-needed time on the training pitch at Cobham as they prepare for Alonso’s first home game in charge at Stamford Bridge against former club Real Sociedad on August 15, which is followed by their top-flight opener away to rivals Fulham on August 24.
Busy schedule: Chelsea are playing five games in four different countries during a hectic pre-season tour
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Alonso is expected to heavily rotate this weekend as he manages minutes and injury risks.
Why are Chelsea playing twice this weekend?
Chelsea were originally meant to have a three-day break between facing AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta’zim.
The friendly against Johor Darul Ta’zim, who are currently on a remarkable world-record 108-game domestic league unbeaten run, was initially supposed to take place on Tuesday (August 11).
But after further discussions, the two clubs mutually agreed to bring the game forward to Sunday in order to “assist with scheduling and preparations ahead of the 2026/27 campaign”.
The Malaysian Super League and English Premier League seasons both start in two weeks’ time. Johor Darul Ta’zim host Kuching on August 21, before Chelsea make the short trip to Fulham three days later.
Chelsea apologised for the late date change, which was confirmed in early June, stating that tickets purchased beforehand were still fully valid with no need to exchange or update them.
Full refunds were offered to supporters with tickets who could not attend on the new date, with a deadline for requests set at June 30.
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