Chelsea vs Western Sydney Wanderers Prediction: Blues set for entertaining win

After a busy summer in the transfer market, Chelsea kick off their pre-season preparations on Tuesday when they face Western Sydney Wanderers (10:45am kick-off BST, CFC+).

The Blues will be racking up the air-miles over the next couple of weeks, with Xabi Alonso's men starting in Australia before heading to Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia before the new season starts. Read on for my Western Sydney Wanderers vs Chelsea predictions, as well as team news and match odds.

Team News

Although most of the Chelsea new additions will not be part of the matchday squad, there will be plenty of experience and quality on show.

The likes of Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Joao Pedro have been part of the training preparations Down Under and should feature.

Another player looking to make an impact is Jamie Gittens, with the former Borussia Dortmund man now back to fitness, having featured in two recent behind-closed-doors friendlies.

Marco Palestra could make his debut, following his summer move from Atalanta, while Romeo Lavia may also get some game time.

Western Sydney, who finished bottom of the A-League last season, include former Bournemouth and Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser in their squad.

Chelsea vs Western Sydney Wanderers Odds

The Premier League side are strong odds-on favourites to win the match, with Alonso’s men available to back at 1/5.

Wanderers, who won just five of their 26 league games last term, can be backed at 9/1, while the draw is priced at 11/2.

Chelsea to win and Both Teams to Score @ 13/10

With the likes of Morgan Rogers, Emanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda waiting in the wings and, with the expected capture of Maxence Lacroix, the traveling Blues will be out to impress.

New boss Alonso will want to see the current crop of players show what they can do over the next couple of weeks.

Only Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool and Man Utd scored more league goals than the Blues last term, but the Spaniard will be well aware that things need to improve defensively.

Until the new arrivals settle in though, it's likely that Chelsea will still give up chances and Western Sydney will feel they can get on the scoresheet on Tuesday.

Over 3.5 Goals @ 8/11

With the likes of Palmer and Joao Pedro set to feature, it's hard to see the home side being able to keep Chelsea at bay.

The Blues did score in all of their final four league games last term and now face a team that conceded 43 goals in 26 A League matches last season - an average of 1.65 goals per game.

It's also worth noting that Chelsea failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 16 Premier League games of last season.