Chelsea pre-season fixtures in full as Enzo Maresca summer plan laid bare

With Chelsea's 2024/25 season now concluded, Enzo Maresca, the players and staff members around the club can have a well deserved break.

The Blues, quite remarkably, have been playing competitive football since the opening day of the Premier League season - a 2-0 loss to Manchester Cityon August 18. Sunday's Club World Cup final win over PSG was the club's 64th and final fixture of what truly was a long and gruelling campaign.

It was a successful one, though, as Maresca guided his team to a fourth place finish in the league, as well as Conference League and Club World Cup glory. Everyone really has earned this rest period.

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In truth, there's not much rest to be had, however. Players will be given just 21 days off and will report back for pre-season in the week commencing August 4. Only time will tell how the Club World Cup tournament impacts Chelsea in the long run.

“Probably there is no time for pre-season,” Maresca said in May. “You need to give them recovery. You need to give them some days off, otherwise it’s impossible for them to perform in the right way.”

Once the Chelsea players return from their mini breaks, it will be back into action more or less straight away. In June the Blues announced they will be hosting a pre-season tournament called the 2025 VisitMalta Weekender, with games against AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen pencilled in.

The first of the two matches at Stamford Bridge will be against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday, August 8. The match against the Italian side will take place two days later on Sunday, August 10.

Todd Kline, president of commercial for Chelsea, said when the fixtures were announced: "We look forward to bringing the 2025 VisitMalta Weekender to Stamford Bridge this summer as we make final preparations for the 2025/26 season. Hosting AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen provides a high level of competition for the players as they complete their pre-season preparations and the opportunity for the club to roll-out digital ticketing across the stadium."

Exactly one week after the game against Milan, Chelsea will be hosting Crystal Palace in their Premier League opener on Sunday, August 17. They then face West Ham on Friday, August 22 before welcoming Fulham to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, August 30. The schedule is relentless.

Maresca will all be too aware that the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal will be weeks ahead of them in terms of fitness should the players have a full break over the next few weeks, so it's likely the squad have been given individual training programmes so their fitness levels don't dramatically drop. While the 2024/25 season has only just concluded, it won't be long until the 2025/26 season gets underway.

Chelsea pre-season dates

Chelsea vs Bayer Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge on Friday, August 8 - 7pm kick-off

Chelsea vs AC Milan at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 10 - 3pm kick-off