Chelsea returned to action for the first time since winning the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, when they hosted Bayer Leverkusen for a preseason friendly match.
The Blues qualified the Champions League and won the Europa Conference League at the end of last season, winning a boom month for several months before being crowned the U.S. world champion in mid-July. But now the attention has turned to the new term, with Chelsea starting the Premier League campaign at Crystal Palace on August 17.
Chelsea will host a London showdown warm-up for Leverkusen and AC Milan in a friendly match, with their new signing band lined up to make their home debut.
Leverkusen recovered under 20 from their humiliating 5-1 victory over Flamengo in Erik Ten’s first club match, while former Manchester United’s first match has since been friendly with victories in Bochum, Fortuna Sittard and Pisa. After losing manager Xabi Alonso and many of the smartest talents in the summer, it will be a challenging season for the German side.
This is Sports Illustrated“A Guide to Meeting Before Season Friday.”
Chelsea vs. Bayer Leverkusen's head-to-head record (always)
Current Form (All Competitions)
Chelsea
Bayer Leverkusen
Chelsea 3-0 PSG -13/07/25
Leverkusen 3-0 PISA -05/08/25
Fluminense 0–2 Chelsea-08/07/25
Fortuna Sittard 1–2 Leverkusen -01/08/25
Palmeiras 1–2 Chelsea – 05/07/25
Bochum 0–2 Leverkusen -27/07/25
Benfica 1–4 Chelsea AET -28/06/25
Flamengo U20 5–1 Leverkusen -18/07/25
ES Tunisia 0–3 Chelsea – 25/06/25
MAINZ 2–2 Leverkusen -17/05/25
nation
TV channel/live stream
U.K.
DAZN, Channel 5
USA
Paramount+, DAZN, CBS Sports golazo
Canada
Daz
Chelsea will not have Levitra Covell. /Mike Segar-Reuters via Imagn Image
Chelsea announced that Levi Colwill had a successful surgery to repair the ACL injury that would leave him absent for most of the upcoming campaign.
Maresca also confirmed that Wesley Fofana should make a comeback at the start of the new Premier League season, but will be unavailable for upcoming battles with Leverkusen and Leverkusen and Milan.
Jorrel Hato, Jamie Gittens and Estêvão will be eager to have an unofficial debut, while João Pedro, Liam Delap and Dário Essugo should be Chelsea players for the first time at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea predicted lineup with Leverkusen (4-2-3-1):sánchez; James, Charoba, Harto, Cucumber; Caicedo, Fernández; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro.
Jarell Quansah will make an appearance for Leverkusen. /imago/branislav racko
Newly signed Axel Tape, Jarell Quansah and Mark Flekken will get more minutes on Friday night in the defense of the Ten, while Summer Recruit Malik Tillman will be eager to debut Die Werkself after his big move from PSV Eindhoven.
Leverkusen lost Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool this summer, while Granit Xhaka and Jonathan Tah also set out for Sunderland and Bayern Munich respectively. They will have to adapt quickly to life without four key players.
Leverkusen predicts the lineup with Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Flekken; Quansah, Tapsoba, Hincapié; Arthur, Palacios, Andrich, Grimaldo; Hoffman, Tray; Schick.
Chelsea may be a little rusty after a month’s defeat, but their club World Cup wins are still high. Maresca might name a strong starting lineup as preparations start a new term properly.
This is not the team of Leverkusen who dominates the Bundesliga in 2023-24, who sold many key performers throughout the field. Ten Witches have not yet faced a Chelsea-scale challenge in the preseason and may be defeated when returning to England.