Chelsea vs AC Milan: Tips, Odds, and Match Preview

Chelsea and AC Milan will collide at Stamford Bridge in what will be the final pre-season tune-up for both clubs.

Chelsea only played twice during the preseason, though that’s understandable given how busy they were in the summer due to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Meanwhile, Milan have been slightly more active, though it’s hard to make anything of their preseason, and they don’t have anywhere to go but up following a subpar 2024-25 campaign.

Final test for the FIFA Club World Cup champions

Chelsea have managed to stay busy after the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup title and continue to build their squad. Manager Enzo Maresca has enjoyed the arrival of a ton of elite attacking talent throughout the summer, with the Blues adding Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and João Pedro to an attack that already featured Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer.

The Blues know they need a positive result to prepare for the new campaign in a positive note. Still, Maresca isn’t expected to take too many risks in this friendly. He already lost Colwill to a season-ending ACL injury. Expect a lot of rotation from the English giants as a result of that approach.

Chelsea Injury & Suspension News

There are a few injury concerns for Chelsea ahead of this matchup. Colwill is out long-term with a knee injury, same as Mykhailo Mudryk due to a doping-related ban. Romeo Lavia (strain), Omari Kellyman (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (hamstring) and Benoit Badiashile (undisclosed) aren’t expected to be risked.

AC Milan closing up their preseason

AC Milan opened their preseason campaign with a 1-0 loss to Arsenal, but they bounced back admirably and defeated Liverpool by a 4-2 score in their next game. Their most recent game was a match that turned out to be hard to analyze, since they overpowered Perth Glory en route to a 9-0 blowout win. Even though that kind of margin does wonders for the confidence, it’s fair to analyse the kind of team Milan faced in the first place.

This matchup against Chelsea could be a solid measure to determine just how well prepared AC Milan are for the upcoming 2025-26 Serie A campaign, especially after ending the 2024-25 term in a disappointing eighth place. They’ve done a solid job from a transfer perspective. Despite losing Tijjani Reijnders, who joined Manchester City, the club added Samuele Ricci, Luka Modric and Ardon Jashari, as well as Pervis Estupiñán and manager Max Allegri. Those additions should be a good starting point for the Rossoneri for this upcoming campaign.

AC Milan Injury & Suspension News

AC Milan won’t have any injuries ahead of this match.

Chelsea vs AC Milan Prediction

Don’t be surprised if this game ends up being a back-and-forth contest, particularly when both sides start subbing off their regulars. Neither club is expected to risk their regulars too much with the start of a new season just around the corner. Still, Chelsea should have the upper hand in this one. They’re playing at home and will be keen to celebrate their FIFA Club World Cup success, but they’re also deeper than Milan. That should make a difference in this contest.

CryptoGamba tip: Chelsea to win – 1.97 @ JackBit