Exactly 24 hours after beating AC Milan in Indonesia, Chelsea take a nearly 1,400km trip to Malaysia to face Johor Darul Ta’zim at their turf. With manager Xabi Alonso choosing to give first-team starters as much time as possible on the pitch yesterday, it’s no surprise this starting lineup is even younger in contrast.
At the very least it’s one more chance for those about to be professionals to impress the current boss. Some of which might already be in his radar given past performances.
Johor Darul
Ta’zim starting eleven: tba
Substitutes from: tba
Chelsea starting lineup (3-4-3?):
Sharman-Lowe; Sarr, Tosin, Anselmino; Quenda, Nicoll-Jazuli, Essugo (c), Gittens; Estêvão, Delap, Jackson
Substitutes from: Slonina, Curd, Subuloye, Diakité, Watson, Walsh, Kavuma-McQueen, Mudryk, Satpayev
Date / Time: Sunday, August 9, 2026, 8pm (local), 13.00 BST; 8am EDT
Venue: Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia
On TV: none (UK/USA); elsewhere
Streaming: Paramount+ (USA), FanCode (India); StarTimes (NGA); CFC+ (UK/int’l) — CFC+ is Chelsea’s new-ish streaming service; you can watch there for £9.99 (or subscribe for the whole year for £19.99)
