After a fiery 1-0 win over Premier League rivals Liverpool, Chelsea will now look ahead to their much-publicised encounter with Champions League winners Real Madrid, in Michigan.
The International Champions Cup contest could draw in a record number of supporters – with tickets still selling for the match at the Michigan Stadium, which holds up to 109,000 supporters. Such an attendance would eclipse the record for a soccer game in America, previously set by Manchester United and Real Madrid in 2014.
Chelsea’s returning contingent of players helped the Blues on their way to a victory over their Premier League rivals in the heat of Pasadena’s Rose Bowl.
Gary Cahill grabbed the only goal of the game, as he rose above two Liverpool defenders to nod in Cesc Fabregas’s corner – in what was otherwise a tight affair. Fabregas was sent off late on for a rash sliding challenge on new Liverpool signing Ragnar Klavan, and will subsequently not play any part against Real Madrid.
More Chelsea players are set to return from their extended holidays for the game against Madrid – with Belgium players Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois both available to play a part in Michigan this Saturday.
The likes of Pedro and Juan Cuadrado are also set to play a more substantial role against Madrid – after only having played 23 minutes in the previous game against Liverpool.
Real Madrid on the other hand, lost their inaugural International Champions Cup game against French champions PSG on Wednesday – as Belgium full-back Thomas Meunier grabbed two goals in a comfortable 3-1 victory over Los Blancos. Furthermore, they like Chelsea don’t have any injury concerns coming into Saturday’s match.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will be without Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo but Sergio Ramos has returned to their squad.
Just like the previous pre-season games, you can catch the fixture live on ChelseaTV with the match kicking off at 20:05pm UK time on Saturday evening.
