Elite Club Friendlies: Barcelona Vs. Chelsea
Published July 22, 2019 by Sol FH
Preseason games are on the board as Barcelona hosts Chelsea in this Elite Club Friendly, Tuesday at 11:30 GMT.
Japanese fans of European soccer are in for a treat tomorrow, as Barcelona and Chelsea get into their preseason match, but, this one will be played at Saitama Stadium in Japan. This match, essentially the Rakuten Cup, will be an incredible preseason battle to watch, as new signings on both sides will get to dawn their new colors and play in a warmup. Both teams will want to win this one, despite only being a friendly. Let's take a look at the lineups, betting odds, and news ahead of this huge matchup.
Barcelona won La Liga, yet again, but, they have been busy in the offseason signing major players Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong and Neto to their 26-man squad. In big news, Neymar has voiced his desire to make a return to Barcelona, and the word is that Lionel Messi is holding off on signing his new contract with La Blaugrana until Neymar transfer is complete.
Chelsea, over the summer, has not made many moves in bringing in talent, yet; instead, they have parted ways with Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa Aina, Marcin Bulka, Gary Cahill, and Eden Hazard, in an £89.0m move to Real Madrid. The Blues have had three preseason matches so far, drawing with Bohemians, beating St. Patrick's Athletic, and then losing to Kawasaki Frontale in a game in Japan. Lest we forget that Chelsea won the Europa League back in May and they are a powerful team, but, they will need some new blood before the start of the season.
Elite Club Betting Odds
Even though these matches are preseason games, bet365 Sports has a full line of betting markets available. The odds are virtually identical for the outright winner; Barcelona with a slight edge over Chelsea at 2.45 to 2.60. There are literally dozens of more odds available, and punters will also get a number of live in-play betting markets to choose from.
It's an early match so set your clocks for 11:30 GMT tomorrow and take a look at the teams' form before we get into another year of European soccer.
