It may be a meaningless pre-season match, but it is never a friendly when Chelsea face Tottenham.
The fierce Premier League rivals meet in Sydney before jetting back home to finish their preparations ahead of the new campaign, but this will be a tough test for both dugouts.
Roberto De Zerbi and Xabi Alonso meet for the first time in charge of their new clubs, and are expected to compete in a sold-out 80,000-seater stadium.
That adds more stakes to the match, which should see both teams phase in more senior players, after offering their academies a lot of minutes in Australia so far.
Catch up with all the team news below.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea starting XI: Sharman-Lowe, Palestra, Fofana, Colwill, Hato, Essugo, Lavia, Estevao, Palmer, Gittens, Pedro
Chelsea substitutes: Curd, Subuloye, Tosin, Sarr, Anselmino, Emenalo, Acheampong, Walsh, Watson, Nicoll-Jazuli, Satpayev, Kellyman, Kavuma-McQueen, Delap
Tottenham team news
Tottenham starting XI: Kinsky, Robertson, Van Hecke, Gallagher, Tel, Gray, Bergvall, Tonali, Solanke, Solomon, Davies
Tottenham substitutes: Dubravka, Danso, Richarlison, Takai, Donley, Scarlett, Moore, Hall, Russell-Denny, Melia, Kyermaten, Yang, Ajayi, Hardy, Williams-Barnett, Byrne, Tingey, Hall
How to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham: TV channel, online stream
The match kicks off at 10:45am BST on Saturday, August 1.
It will be shown live as part of the Sydney Super Cup coverage, with streaming available through the clubs’ official pre-season channels.
The stats for Chelsea vs Tottenham
- Chelsea scored six goals from 23 shots in Xabi Alonso’s first game in charge, beating Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4
- Joao Pedro marked his Chelsea debut with a hat-trick and an assist after coming off the bench
- Tottenham have won all three of their pre-season matches, beating MK Dons, Auckland FC and Sydney FC
- Spurs have conceded just one goal across those three friendlies, with Sydney FC the first team to breach their defence this summer
- Mathys Tel has contributed a goal and an assist in Tottenham’s three pre-season fixtures
- Chelsea have won each of the last six meetings with Tottenham in all competitions
- Tottenham’s last victory over Chelsea came in the Premier League in November 2023
- Saturday’s meeting will be the first match between the clubs to be played in Australia
Prediction for Chelsea vs Tottenham
Chelsea have already shown the attacking quality Alonso wants to implement, but their defensive organisation is still a work in progress.
Tottenham look further along in their preparations and appear far more settled under De Zerbi, so they may have enough to edge an entertaining contest.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-3 Tottenham
