Chelsea vs Wrexham live score, updates, highlights and result from preseason friendly in USA

By | July 19, 2023
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Mauricio Pochettino gets his new role as Chelsea manager underway in earnest as he takes charge of his first match, a friendly against Wrexham on the campus of the University of North Carolina.

Pochettino has taken over from Frank Lampard, who guided the club through the end of 2022/23 on an interim basis, after the departure of Graham Potter in April. The Blues had a massively disappointing season, finishing 12th and missing out on European football altogether.

After a failed stint at Paris Saint-Germain, and a year out of the game, the Argentinian coach has found his next role, and he will work closely with American owner Todd Boehly to revive the Blues’ standing in both the Premier League and Europe.

They take on Wrexham, who are back in the Football League after promotion to League Two last season. The investment of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has been vital to the club, and now they will look to take on the fourth tier of English football hoping to continue their rise up the ranks.

The Sporting News is following Chelsea vs. Wrexham live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen below.

Chelsea vs Wrexham live score

  1st Half Goalscorers
Chelsea – –
Wrexham – –

Predicted lineups:

Chelsea (4-3-3, right to left): Bergstrom (GK) — Gilchrist, Thiago Silva, L. Hall, Chilwell — Gallagher, Burstow, A. Gabriel — D. Richards, Nkunku, Sterling.

Wrexham (3-5-2, right to left): Foster (GK) — O’Connor, O’Connell, Tozer — Barnett, Cannon, Lee, Jones, Mendy — Mullin, Dalby.

Chelsea vs Wrexham live updates, highlights, commentary

1 hour, 30 mins. to kickoff: Here’s video proof that the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ show did create fans in the USA:

1 hour, 45 mins. to kickoff: The ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ effect is real. 

2 hours to kickoff: This match will be Mauricio Pochettino’s first game in charge of Chelsea, and while it’s just a preseason friendly, he’s already feeling the pressure, saying that “it is like all games are official.”

Chelsea vs Wrexham lineups, team news

New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino told reporters in his pre-match press conference that he would likely pick starting a lineup of mostly youngsters, but that a number of senior players may come on later in the match.

Senior members of the squad who could be primed for time on the pitch include Marc Cucurella, who struggled in his first season at the club but could be again thrust into a primary role after Wesley Fofana went down with a torn ACL this summer. Another player who could see the field is Christopher Nkunku, who was recently signed from RB Leipzig and will need to begin to integrate himself into the Chelsea squad.

One player who won’t be involved is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is reportedly having a medical with French club Olympique Marseille tomorrow ahead of a transfer, while Romelu Lukaku‘s future is in question after returning from his loan at Inter Milan.

The predicted lineup below is the one Chelsea deployed in the club’s open training session the day before the match.

Chelsea projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Bergstrom (GK) — Gilchrist, Thiago Silva, L. Hall, Chilwell — Gallagher, Burstow, A. Gabriel — D. Richards, Nkunku, Sterling.

Chelsea subs (12): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

As Wrexham are participating in their first preseason friendly of the summer, it will be next to impossible to figure out their lineup for the match. The club has a long summer tour ahead of it, with three more games to go in California and Pennsylvania.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson didn’t address his lineup goals for this match. However, he said they “still have some squad building to do,” but also did admit that “it’s always good for players to play in front of big crowds and expectations of the spotlight” because it will help them to handle higher pressure games later in the season. So don’t rule out some first-teamers in the squad here.

Former Manchester United and Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster is back with the club, signing another one-year contract after playing a massive role in their promotion push last season. They’ve brought one new player in so far this summer, adding 27-year-old defender Will Boyle from Championship side Huddersfield Town.

Below is the first-team lineup from their penultimate match of the league season against Boreham Wood, where they officially secured promotion to League Two. It remains to be seen how many of these players are match fit to start given the early nature in the context of the taxing pre-season trip ahead.

Wrexham projected starting lineup (3-5-2): Foster (GK) — O’Connor, O’Connell, Tozer — Barnett, Cannon, Lee, Jones, Mendy — Mullin, Dalby.

Wrexham subs (12): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

How to watch Chelsea vs Wrexham

  Date Time TV Channel Streaming
USA Wed, Jul. 19 8 p.m. ET ESPN,
ESPN Deportes		 Fubo,
WatchESPN, ESPN+,
Chelsea.com
UK Thu, Jul. 20 1 a.m. ET S4C S4C Red Button,
Chelsea.com
Australia Thu, Jul. 20 10 a.m. AEST beIN Sports 1 beIN Sports Connect,
Chelsea.com
Canada Wed, Jul. 19 8 p.m. ET  — DAZN
India Thu, Jul. 20 5:30 a.m. IST  — Chelsea.com
Hong Kong Thu, Jul. 20 8 a.m. HKT  — Chelsea.com
Malaysia Thu, Jul. 20 8 a.m. MYT  — Chelsea.com
New Zealand Thu, Jul. 20 12 p.m. NZST  — Chelsea.com
Singapore Thu, Jul. 20 8 a.m. SST  — Chelsea.com

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