Preview: Western Sydney Wanderers vs Chelsea

Chelsea fans will have their first opportunity to see Xabi Alonso in the dugout when the Blues take on Western Sydney Wanderers at Accor Stadium on Tuesday.

The upcoming friendly will be the Londoners' first pre-season game, and they will be taking on the worst-ranked A-League side of 2025-26.

Match preview

Western Sydney Wanderers ended 2025-26 last in 12th place in the Australian top flight, with their points tally of 21 their worst ever return.

It came as no surprise to see Alen Stajcic sacked in January, and the first task for new boss Ufuk Talay will be to improve his side's offensive output given they netted just 27 goals last term, the joint worst offensive record in the division.

Wanderers returned to action on July 22, beating Tigers FC 2-0 in the round of 32 of the Australian Cup to claim their first competitive victory in eight games, a period in which they were beaten six times.

That cup success was also the team's second clean sheet in 13 fixtures, though they did concede five goals when they last faced an English opponent, losing 5-1 to Everton in a friendly in November 2022.

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Alonso will lead his Blues side out for the first time on Tuesday, with the head coach having taken the job at Stamford Bridge despite being heavily linked to Liverpool.

The Spaniard has inherited a team that will not play European football next term after finishing 10th in the Premier League with just 52 points.

Chelsea only scored 58 league goals under previous managers Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, their joint second worst return in the 21st century.

A return of 52 goals conceded also made the Londoners the joint seventh worst defensive team in the league last season, and they conceded at least three goals six times in the league.

Chelsea ended 2025-26 with 10 defeats, one draw and three wins from their final 14 games in all competitions, with one of those defeats coming against Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 16.

Western Sydney Wanderers (all competitions):

Chelsea friendly form:

Team News

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Western Sydney will want to reward many of their first-team stars with starts against Chelsea, though do not expect attackers Miguel Di Pizio, Brandon Borrello and Liam Gillion to finish the game.

Perhaps midfielders Dylan Scicluna and Angus Thurgate will be paired together ahead of central defenders German Ferreyra and Anthony Pantazopoulos.

Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen may be allocated the first half between the posts, and he could be protected by a back three consisting of Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Tayo Subuloye.

Romeo Lavia's latest injury setback is reportedly a knock, and if he is unable to make the lineup, then Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli and Reggie Watson may be trusted together in a double pivot.

Chelsea supporters in Australia will want to see Cole Palmer play as many minutes as possible, and the Englishman will almost certainly be used in an attacking role behind striker Joao Pedro.

Western Sydney Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Vidackovic; Madanha, Ferreyra, Pantazopoulos, Gersbach; Scicluna, Thurgate; Di Pizio, Hammond, Gillion; Borrello

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Jorgensen; Fofana, Subuloye, Colwill; Palestra, Nicoll-Jazuli, Watson, Kavuma-McQueen; Palmer, Gittens; Pedro

We say: Western Sydney Wanderers 1-3 Chelsea

Pre-season friendlies are notoriously unpredictable, and any result is plausible given both sides are likely to make numerous changes throughout the game.

The most probable outcome is a Chelsea win given their quality, but it would not be surprising if Western Sydney Wanderers found their way onto the scoresheet.

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