Pre-Season Catch-Up – Chelsea’s Strength Falls Short

Chelsea slipped to their third consecutive pre-season defeat last night at the hands of Hamburg; the Bundesliga outfit turning them over by a 2-1 margin. This came after Carlo Ancelotti’s side had taken the lead through a Frank Lampard tap-in, laid on a plate by Micheal Essien following a defensive error by the Germans.

While the result will ring some alarm bells, perhaps the most significant elements of Chelsea’s latest friendly concerns the teamsheet.

Ancelotti put out a strong side for this, the penultimate friendly before the Community Shield clash with United this weekend. Didier Drogba’s arrival as a second-half sub will take the headlines but elsewhere there were some interesting footnotes. Ross Turnbull took the keeper’s jersey in the continued absence of Petr Cech and he would seem odds-on to start at Wembley and possible in the season opener with West Brom.

Interestingly Ancelotti went with Branislav Ivanovic alongside John Terry in the centre of defence with Paulo Ferreira drafted in at right-back. Could we Ivanovic switched here for a prolonged spell this season? It’s a strong possibility. Ricardo Carvalho’s future at the club remains shaky, whilst Alex continues to be cursed by recurring niggles. With Ferreira and a fit-again Jose Bosingwa as options at right-back, Ancelotti may well look to switch the versatile and consistent Ivanovic to a central role…

Further forward Anelka took up the central striking position with Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda on the flanks. Presumably Drogba’s return against the Baggies would shift Anelka out wide with Kalou set to drop out. In the longer-term, Yossi Benayoun is also a factor to consider here however; he saw action as a second-half sub last night.

Much depends on how Ancelotti assesses Drogba’s readiness for the new season but he hinted in his post-match comments that Drogba’s presence would be a key factor, regardless of fitness…

“The players who came back on 26 July need another two weeks to work. Obviously they can still play in this moment…Even if they are not fit they still have a good presence on the pitch, so it is not so important to be 100 per cent fit at the start of the season. They need more time playing and they will do better.”

If Chelsea’s pre-season causes concern, spare a thought for Man City who suffered their fourth defeat of the summer last night in going down 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund.

The team news here found Joe Hart getting the nod ahead of Shay Given, while Aleksandar Kolarov made his City debut. Roberto Mancini also paired Kolo Toure and Vincent Kompany in central defence – suggesting that they could be the potential first choice pairing leaving Joleon Lescott struggling for starts. The former Everton man eventually saw action last night as he replaced Yaya Toure with Kompany switching to a midfield role. Again, this just emphasises the competition for starts in Mancini’s side and the task ahead for Fantasy Managers looking to tap into City’s potential.

While Chelsea and City have struggled in pre-season, Everton have been on fire. They earned their sixth consecutive win in a bizarre clash with their Chilean namesakes at Goodison. Marouane Fellaini’s return to the midfield, plus a first goal for Jermain Beckford in front of the home fans grabbed the headlines here.

David Moyes demonstrated the depth of his squad by leaving the likes of Leighton Baines and Mikel Arteta on the bench – both would presumably be certain starters come the season kick-off at Blackburn. It will be interesting to see how the Everton boss juggles his resources then, particularly with Bilyaletdinov notching his second consecutive goal last night and with Fellaini making his return from injury from the bench. Seamus Coleman made another start at right-back last night – he continues to press for that starting berth come August 14 and is starting to look like a worthwhile Fantasy gamble.

Wigan’s 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Real Zaragoza will have done little for their confidence but it did give us a strong indication of Roberto Martinez’ preferred starting lineup. The Latics boss put out a strong side with Hugo Rodallega and new signing Mauro Boselli paired in attack. There was also a new patnership at the back with Steve Gohouri deployed alongside Paraguayan World Cup star Antolin Alcaraz. The likes or Ronnie Stam and James McArthur will be pushing for inclusion but last night’s eleven looks very close to the side that will take the field against Blackpool a week on Saturday.

Man United also saw pitch time last night although their 7-1 win over an Airtricity League XI was more of an exhibition than a eagerly contested friendly match. There was little for Fantasy Managers to take from this one other than the fact that Wayne Rooney, Ji-sung Park, Michael Carrick and Nemanja Vidic all made their first appearances since the World Cup. Goals for Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen may well have given Alex Ferguson food for thought though as options for the United boss continue to develop. There are also some injury concerns for Ferguson to mull over however – Michael Carrick picked up an ankle injury last night.

You can of course get the lineups and details from this and all the other friendlies to this point via our Pre-Season Form guide.