Club Friendly: Sleeping Giants Prepare for 2027

Chelsea vs Juventus

Premier League Chelsea head to the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong on Wednesday to take on Serie A sleeping giants Juventus in a fascinating pre-season club friendly in the Far East. 

The 2026/27 season will be a big campaign for both clubs, each with a successful manager and each striving to bring back former glories after missing out on Champions League football this season. Chelsea, now managed by former Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, finished tenth in the Premier League table last term while the Old Lady, with ex Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti at the helm, ended up sixth in Serie A and, while the Blues have a year off from European travels, Juventus will play Europa football this term.  

Both clubs have aspirations of a top-four finish in 2026/27, and this game is a perfect opportunity for the two coaches to see exactly where they are at, as the new campaigns draw ever nearer.          

 

Talking Points

Alonso can bring the best out of Chelsea youngsters 

After both manager and team had a poor campaign last term, Alonso with Real Madrid and Chelsea swapping head coaches mid-season, both have something to prove, and I have some optimism for the Blues’ prospects. Tenth-place last season may have been an outlier, but Alonso will leave no stone unturned in his attempt to turn things around quickly. 

Chelsea suffered a last-gasp defeat to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney on Saturday and the new manager was reflective in his after-match interview, saying: “of course, in any game, you think that you can do better; that’s part of the process, to learn from things that we can do better, things that we have done well.”

One player hoping to make his fair share of Premier League 2026 highlights is 21-year-old winger Jamie Gittens who made his name as a teenager with Borussia Dortmund, and he has been brilliant under the new manager in pre-season. He struggled for fitness and form last season and spent much of his active time on the bench, but Gittens can play a big part this year. As can Cole Palmer, who was superb in 2024/25 but had a poor season last term, missing out on a place in England’s World Cup squad. Alonso also has new signing Morgan Rogers to add to his squad, once he returns from holiday while Estevao Willian and Joao Pedro are both expected to start against I Bianconeri on Wednesday.    

The pre-season SBOTOP Premier League 2026 betting odds say Chelsea are one of five teams which may be able to challenge the champions Arsenal and Alonso has the coaching skill, and the players to do just that. But there is plenty of work to do.

 

Spalletti can get Juventus back in business 

After winning the Scudetto as manager of Napoli in 2023, Spalletti left the club saying he wanted some time out but he was appointed head coach of Italy just two months later. He led the Azzurri to Euro 2024 where they were eliminated at the first knockout stage and then Spalletti was sacked in 2025, before taking over at Juventus part way through last season.    

He has publicly said that Juventus have recruited badly in recent years, and he is hoping to improve matters with new signings before the summer window closes. And while he has plenty of work to do, Spalletti has already brought Randal Kolo Muani back to Turin after the French striker had an ill-fated year at Tottenham. With electric pace and strength, Kolo Muani can thrive in Serie A as he did on loan with I Bianconeri in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, scoring eight goals in 16 appearances, and he can link up with Turkish star Kenan Yildiz, who is an exciting prospect.   

 

History 

Juventus are twice Champions League winners, the last time way back in 1996, and have won the Scudetto an incredible 36 times, but not since 2020. Meanwhile, Chelsea too have been Kings of Europe twice, as recently as 2021, but the last time they won one of their six Premier League titles was back in 2017. 

These two giants of the European game have met six times before and the spoils have been shared, with two victories each and there have been two draws. But the Old Lady will be smarting from her last meeting with the Blues when the London side handed out a 4-0 thrashing on the way to their 2021 Champions League triumph.  

 

Betting Tip

With Juventus at odds of 3.20 and the draw at 3.75, all three results are in play in this fascinating friendly and the two teams will hope to put on a show for the Hong Kong fans, while the new managers get to know more about their squads. I’m siding with Alonso’s Blues who will have a strong side out.     

   

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