Chelsea vs Wrexham LIVE: Date, kick-off time, team news and how to follow pre-season clash as Pochettino takes on Hollywood-backed side

Chelsea begin their pre-season schedule with a glamour tie against Wrexham in the USA in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Mauricio Pochettino is already hard at work with his players and Blues fans don’t have long to wait to see them in action.

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The London giants are heading to the States for a mega tour and first on the list is a fixture against the 2022/23 National League champions.

Wrexham are owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and held off Notts County to win automatic promotion to League Two.

The Red Dragons have a lot of supporters in America, so the atmosphere for this one should be electric.

Chelsea vs Wrexham: Date and how to follow

This pre-season clash is set to take place on Wednesday, July 19th.

It is taking place at Kenan Stadium in North Carolina and kick-off is scheduled for 7:30pm local time.

This means it will start at 12:30am on Thursday, July 20 in the UK.

The game at the 51,000-capacity stadium has totally sold out.

Unfortunately, the match won’t be shown by any UK TV broadcaster but will be available on the 5th Stand App and Chelsea’s website.

5th Stand is Chelsea’s official app and can be downloaded for free on IOS and Android.

talkSPORT will have updates throughout and talkSPORT.com will have all the best reaction.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

ou can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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Chelsea vs Wrexham: Team news

The Blues have been dealt a cruel injury blow, with Wesley Fofana suffering another ACL injury that will keep him out for a long time.

He joins Benoit Badiashile and Armando Broja on the injury list.

Reece James didn’t travel with the squad initially due to illness, so might sit this one out.

New men Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson are likely to play some part, but despite travelling, Levi Colwill is doubtful due to his involvement with England at the Euro U21 Championships.

But Romelu Lukaku, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech were left at home.

Meanwhile, Wrexham’s new man Will Boyle could play some part.

Chelsea squad for 2023 USA tour

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Gabriel Solnina, Lucas Bergstrom, Eddie Beach, Jamie Cumming

Defenders: Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Levi Colwill, Bashir Humphreys, Ian Maatsen, Alfie Gilchrist

Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos, Cesare Casadei, Lewis Hall

Forwards: Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Mason Burstow, Dujuan Richards

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Chelsea vs Wrexham: What has been said?

Speaking at his first press conference, Pochettino revealed he must earn Chelsea fans’ trust due to his Tottenham past.

He said: “I know I need to build a relationship with the fans. They know me because of my past.

“I know it’s going to depend on how we approach the game. The team needs to be aggressive and engage with the fans.

“If we create something special and the fans feel it then it’s easy to be in the same direction.

“If we are all together then we can compete and beat these amazing teams like Manchester City and Liverpool.

“I’m by far a much better manager now.

“Experience makes you a better manager. I’m a better coach and a better person after my experience outside of the Premier League.

“This is our motivation and challenge. Every day we are trying to prove that we are right, that is part of our nature. We are competitive and we want to be better.”