Udinese vs Chelsea

Dacia Arena is the venue as Udinese and Chelsea go head-to-head in an exciting pre-season friendly.

Following a decent mid-table finish in the 2021/22 Serie A season, Udinese have handed over the managerial reins to former Ascoli boss Andrea Sottil at the expense of last season’s interim manager Gabriele Cioffi. ‘I Friulani’ launched their pre-season preparations with an overwhelming 11-0 win over Austrian non-league outfit Lienz but have since seemingly run out of steam. Sottil’s men have since picked up just two victories from five off-season fixtures (D1, L2), five of which featured over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. Interestingly, their last three exhibition matches have yielded an identical 2-1 scoreline (W1, L2).

On the other hand, back from a disappointing United States Tour, Chelsea will be looking to find their feet on European soil. Thomas Tuchel’s side outscored Liga MX powerhouse Club America 2-1 in their opening pre-season friendly but have since gone winless in back-to-back outings (D1, L1). After a 1-1 draw with MLS side Charlotte, the ‘Pensioners’ suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to fierce cross-town rivals Arsenal last time out. Excluding their pre-season tour in the US, Tuchel’s men have only won one of their previous three matches on hostile turf (D1, L1), netting under 1.5 goals in both games they failed to win.