Chelsea vs. Juventus: Confirmed pre-season friendly line-ups
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Chelsea and Juventus have announced their confirmed line-ups for their pre-season friendly match.
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Attributed to original sourceKenan Yildiz is back and available for Juventus, who take on Marco Palestra’s Chelsea in a pre-season friendly at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon.
Yildiz is yet to feature for Juventus this pre-season after returning from the World Cup with continued concerns surrounding his knee and his fitness. He is named among Luciano Spalletti’s substitutes in Hong Kong and is in line to earn his first minutes of the pre-season campaign in the second half.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 25: Kenan Yildiz of Turkiye in action during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between Türkiye and USA at Los Angeles Stadium on June 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, United States. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) Juventus have not named either of their two new signings, Randal Kolo Muani or Kerim Alajbegovic, in Wednesday’s starting XI. There is, however, a rare opportunity for veteran centre-forward Arkadiusz Milik. He will be supported by Jeremie Boga and Fabio Miretti in attack.
Douglas Luiz has also been named in the Bianconeri midfield alongside captain Manuel Locatelli, who will be flanked by Andrea Cambiaso and summer recruit Zeki Celik at wing-back.
Zeki Celik joins Juventus (Source: Juventus) There is a starting opportunity in the Chelsea line-up for Italy international Palestra, who joined the Blues in a €60m deal from Atalanta earlier this summer.
Chelsea are without Levi Colwill or Cole Palmer on precautionary grounds, but are able to name the recently-returned Mykhailo Mudryk among their substitutes. The West Londoners have 21 replacements available on their substitutes bench.
New recruit Danny Welbeck walks straight into Xabi Alonso’s attack, alongside Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Geovany Quenda.
Kick-off is due at 12.30 BST.
Chelsea vs. Juventus: Confirmed line-ups SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 01: Marco Palestra of Chelsea looks on during the Sydney Super Cup match between Chelsea FC and Tottenham at Accor Stadium on August 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Palestra, Tosin, Fofana, Hato; Nicoll-Jazuli, Caicedo; Quenda, J.Pedro, Gittens; Welbeck.
Subs: TBC.
Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly; Celik, Locatelli, D.Luiz, Cambiaso; Miretti, Boga; Milik.
Subs: Perin, Pinsoglio, Nava, Bremer, Koopmeiners, Yildiz, Zhegrova, Rugani, Arthur, David, Cabal, Owusu, Gil Puche, Oboavwoduo, Licina, Durmisi.
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What happened
The pre-season friendly between Chelsea and Juventus features confirmed starting XIs from both clubs. Pre-season matches serve as key preparation opportunities for managers to test squads, assess fitness, and integrate new signings ahead of the competitive campaign. Both teams will be looking to build match sharpness with the new season approaching.
Chance analysis
Pre-season lineups are primarily of interest for tactical clues and fitness/squad-readiness indicators rather than result prediction. The selection choices — particularly any new signings, youth players, or absentees — offer insight into each manager's early-season plans. This is a low-stakes fixture in terms of competitive outcome but can reveal tactical trends for the upcoming season.
Minimal match-day impact since this is a pre-season friendly; primary value is informational on squad availability and tactical hints for the regular season.
Treat as low-relevance friendly: use only for squad-depth and tactical-shape signals, not for season-long predictive modeling.