Xabi Alonso takes charge of Chelsea – in front of fans – for the first time this evening with his team facing Western Sydney Wanderers at the 83,500-capacity Accor Stadium.
It is the opening match of the 2026 Sydney Super Cup and the first of five games on Chelsea’s marathon pre-season tour, which continues with a London derby against Tottenham on Saturday before further stops in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Alonso, whose side have played a couple of behind-closed-doors friendlies as part of their preparations for the new season, was brought in after a disappointing 2025/26 campaign for Chelsea that saw three different managers take charge, including Calum McFarlane on two separate occasions.
Western Sydney finished last in the 2025/26 A-League season having accrued just 21 points. Alen Stajcic was sacked in January with Ufuk Talay now in charge.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS TEAM NEWS
Western Sydney: Holmes; Ferreyra, Gersbach, Pantazopoulos, Madanha; Scicluna, Thurgate; Di Pizio, Hammond, Gillion; Borrello
Western Sydney Substitutes: Thomas, Vidackovic, Ugarkovic, Milanovic, Morrison, Carluccio, Lual, Barrie, Katrib, Rose, Cetinic, Hassarati, Waraga, Fransen, Savic, Abdul-Rahman
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
Chelsea will be without new signing Morgan Rogers, Malo Gusto, Pedro Neto, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Enzo Fernández, none of whom have travelled due to their World Cup commitments.
Geovany Quenda and Emmanuel Emegha were left London to deal with minor knocks.
Chelsea: Sharman-Lowe; Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Subuloye, Emenalo; Essugo, Walsh, Watson, Satpayev, Kavuma-McQueen; Delap
Chelsea Substitutes: Sanchez; Curd, Colwill, Fofana, Anselmino, Palestra, Diakite, Lavia, Nicoll-Jazuli, Kellyman, Palmer, Estevao, Gittens, Pedro
How to watch Western Sydney Wanderers v Chelsea: TV and online streams
Western Sydney Wanderers versus Chelsea kicks off on Tuesday at 7.45pm local time in Sydney, which is 10.45am UK time.
The match is not being shown on UK television but can be streamed worldwide via Chelsea’s own CFC+ service. It is also available on Paramount+ in Australia, DAZN in Japan, VG+ in Norway and Claro Sports across Central and South America.
Stats for Western Sydney Wanderers v Chelsea
- This is Chelsea’s first match in Australia in more than a decade
- The fixture is the opening game of the 2026 Sydney Super Cup, which also features Tottenham Hotspur, Sydney FC and Juventus’ women’s side among others
- Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last season under three different permanent and caretaker managers
- Accor Stadium has a capacity of 83,500, making it one of the largest venues in the Southern Hemisphere
