Chelsea host AC Milan to close out preseason. / IMAGO/Visionhaus

Chelsea host AC Milan in their final preseason game of the summer squeezing in two games between the FIFA Club World Cup and start of the Premier League.

Expectations are increasing at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain to become world champions. Coupled with a UEFA Conference League trophy and notable signings, the Blues might not be ready yet to challenge Liverpool or Arsenal, but they are not far off the pace and could even surprise this season.

The Blues outplayed Bay Leverkusen last time out thanks in large part to Estêvão’s debut. The Brazilian wonderkid caught eyes from the start and scored the opening goal of the game. While he might not get meaningful minutes on Sunday, the Blues look to have a star on their hands.

AC Milan, on the other hand, are getting used to Massimiliano Allegri as their new coach after yet another changing of the guard following short tenures of Paulo Fonseca and Sérgio Conceição. After losing their preseason opener to Arsenal, Milan turned around and defeated Liverpool and Perth Glory scoring 13 goals across both games.

The Rossoneri drew a preseason game yesterday with a quick turnaround before they return home for a Coppa Italia game.

Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to Sunday’s preseason encounter.

Chelsea

AC Milan

Chelsea 2–0 Leverkusen – 8/08/25

Leeds United 1–1 AC Milan – 9/08/25

Chelsea 3–0 PSG – 13/07/25

Perth Glory 0–9 AC Milan – 31/07/25

Fluminense 0–2 Chelsea – 08/07/25

Liverpool 1–2 AC Milan – 26/07/25

Palmeiras 1–2 Chelsea – 05/07/25

Milan 0–1 Arsenal – 27/07/25

Benfica 1–4 Chelsea AET – 28/06/25

Milan 2–0 Leverkusen – 24/07/25

Country

TV channel/live stream

United Kingdom

DAZN, Channel 5

United States

DAZN

Canada

DAZN

Chelsea announced Levi Colwill underwent successful surgery to repair an ACL injury that is set to keep him sidelined for a majority of the upcoming campaign.

Nicolas Jackson is not expceted to feature given talk of a summer exit and his absence from the matchday squad against Leverkusen. Even with the short turnaround from Friday, Maresca could give most of his starters a half to play given Chelsea were on an extended break after the FIFA Club World Cup final. As such, expect players like Jorrel Hato, Cole Palmer and Jamie Gittens to feature.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Milan (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro.

Even more bizarre than the quick turnaround for Chelsea, the Rossoneri played a friendly on Saturday against Leeds United. Those hoping to see Christian Pulisic dazzle in his return to Stamford Bridge will be disappointed to find out the USMNT star is still recovering from injury suffered against Liverpool.

Massimiliano Allegri gave multiple players decent minutes against Leeds which could drastically affect his lineup on Sunday.

AC Milan predicted lineup vs. Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Ricci, Modric, Saelemaekers, Dutu; Sa, Gimenez

The Blues looked like they didn’t miss a beat from the Club World Cup final to when they played Leverkusen. And, they added new firepower to the squad including Estêvão, Gittens and Hato. In their final preseason game, Chelsea secure another win.