Coming off a disappointing defeat in the Community Shield at the hands of Arsenal, Mourinho and co. will be looking to land their first victory in normal time since a 1-0 win over Sydney FC in early June of pre-season. The defending Premier League champions have been underwhelming this summer after an embarrassing 4-2 defeat to a second string New York Red Bulls as well as holding PSG and Barcelona in score draws, before eventually emerging victorious on both occasions via penalties. Nonetheless, Mourinho remains as cool as ever and will likely stick by his words following the defeat to NYRB, sure that his side will be ready to defend their crown.
One player who is sure to start this coming Wednesday at the Bridge is Radamel Falcao. The Colombian striker has certainly lacked minutes this preseason and will be given another opportunity to improve his fitness as confirmed by Mourinho himself with issues surrounding Diego Costa’s on-going hamstring injury resurfacing. Once more, after fielding his strongest side on Sunday against Arsenal, Mourinho is likely to hand starts to a number of players who did not feature at Wembley including ex-Fiorentina man Juan Cuadrado.
Fiorentina arguably have reason to be more upbeat ahead of their visit to Stamford Bridge after an impressive, albeit ‘friendly’, 2-1 win against Barcelona thanks to a twelve-minute brace from young forward Bernarderschi. Yet all is not well in Florence. Vincenzo Montella has been sacked despite finishing fourth during every season at the club, along with a Coppa Italia final, semi-final and last four of the Europe League. Worryingly for Viola fans the issue between manager and board arose from a future investment. Absent from the Bridge will be Mario Gomez, Fiorentina’s highest paid player at €4.2 million, who has completed a loan move to Besiktas. While Gomez will be deemed a flop, the exit of first choice goalkeeper Neto and a number of other first team players such as ex-Manchester City defender Stefan Savic and ex-Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani certainly leave Fiorentina somewhat weak.
Kick-off will be at 8:00 pm English time. Those who will be travelling to the game are advised to plan their journeys carefully with a proposed 24-hour tube strike due to commence from 6:30 pm on the evening off the match. As a result, there will be no District Line service to/from Fulham Broadway, Earl’s Court and West Brompton stations. There will be no tube service at all on the rest of the London Underground network. London Overground, buses and national rail services will be operational but busier than usual.
