Chelsea lost their last preseason game in disappointing fashion, as Real Madrid defeated them by a 3-1 score to win the International Champions Cup. There is still one more opportunity for the Blues to earn some green in the USA though, and they'll do so by taking on a Serie A side in the nation's capital. Here's everything you need to know in advance of the game.
Date/Time: August 10, 2013 at 8:00 pm EDT (5:00 pm PDT), August 11, 2013 at 01:00 BST, 05:30 IST. The local time for the game is the first one listed, and here's a handy converter to figure out when it's happening wherever you happen to be.
Opponent/SB Nation Blog: AS Roma, Chiesa Di Totti
Venue: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA
Television Information: UK, US, and Indian viewers appear to be out of luck, as it looks as if this one will be available online only. Here's a guide to check your local listings though.
Streaming Info: Chelsea TV, ESPN 3
Chelsea FC Squad News: Chelsea have the same squad at their disposal that we've seen for the previous three preseason games, including:
Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer, Henrique Hilario, Jamal Blackman, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Ryan Bertrand, Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Marco van Ginkel, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Oscar, Victor Moses, Andre Schurrle, Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Demba Ba
David Luiz appears to be an injury doubt, as Jose Mourinho mentioned today that the club were going to be very careful with their best defender. It's unclear whether Juan Mata will be fit enough to feature, but other than that pair there are no real injury concerns at the moment.
AS Roma Squad News: Roma brought the following players with them to the United States:
Federico Balzaretti, Mehdi Benatia, Michael Bradley, Nicolás Burdisso, Gianluca Caprari, Leandro Castán, Alessandro Crescenzi, Daniele De Rossi, Morgan De Sanctis, Dodô (not extinct), Alessandro Florenzi, Tin Jedvaj, Erik Lamela, Bogdan Lobont, Maicon, Marquinho (not Marquinhos), Pablo Osvaldo, Miralem Pjanić, Matteo Ricci, Alessio Romagnoli, Łukasz Skorupski, Kevin Strootman, Rodrigo Taddei, Gadji Tallo, Vasilis Torosidis, Francesco Totti, Valerio Verre
In the time since they've touched down in the US, they've also come to an agreement to sign Arsenal legend Gervinho. There is no news on whether or not he'll meet up with the team in the US, or if he'll remain in Rome to await their return home.
Chelsea have been giving a few players extended minutes in each of their games thus far, and I'd assume they'll be doing the same again against Roma in advance of their season opener. This game will be followed by one meaningless international friendly for most, and then it's back to England to get the real games underway. Next Sunday just can't come soon enough...
More from We Ain't Got No History:
- Mourinho reminds us not to worry too much over David Luiz absence
- Chelsea open the U21 Premier League season with a lackluster 2-4 home loss to Spurs
- Nathan Ake will not go on loan this season, he'll instead remain with the U21 side
- Jhon Pirez returns to Leganes on loan
- Report: Wallace loan finalized, a medical is all that remains