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Chelsea vs Villarreal Super Cup preview: How to watch on TV, live stream

By Gabe Henderson

Chelsea's German head coach Thomas Tuchel (L) and Chelsea's Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic react at the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German head coach Thomas Tuchel (L) and Chelsea's Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic react at the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s German head coach Thomas Tuchel (L) and Chelsea’s Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic react at the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea’s German head coach Thomas Tuchel (L) and Chelsea’s Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic react at the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea team news

One of the biggest questions on everybody’s mind is “can Romelu Lukaku play in the Super Cup?” At the time of publishing (7 p.m. GMT), Lukaku has not yet been officially unveiled as a Chelsea player. The Blues have until 11 p.m. GMT to register him for the squad, so pending a spectacular turnaround, the striker will not feature. Even if he is unveiled before the beginning of the contest, the likelihood of the Belgian making the matchday squad is slim to none given he hasn’t trained.

As for the rest of the squad, Thomas Tuchel spoke to the media on Tuesday regarding his plans for the match. The late returnees won’t feature for an entire 90 minutes, if at all. This includes all of the English and Italian players, as well as Thiago Silva. Tuchel was careful not to give too much away, but he’ll certainly have one eye on Saturday’s Premier League opener when picking his starting XI for the Super Cup.

The 24-man travelling squad is fully healthy, barring any knocks or fitness setbacks in training on Tuesday evening. Both Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (two of Chelsea’s best players this preseason) travelled with the team to Belfast. Joining them is Tammy Abraham, who is said to be contemplating his future amidst interest from Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

Tuchel has an experienced side to choose from, no matter which direction he looks. However, it’s highly unlikely supporters will see the Blues’ full strength XI on the pitch on Wednesday.

Villarreal team news

Whereas Lukaku is the biggest question mark for Chelsea, the talking point for Villarreal is centerback Pau Torres. The 24-year-old played more minutes in Europe than anybody else this season, racking up an unbelievable 5,500+ minutes across more than 60 contests for Spain and Villarreal. He returned to his club just two days after going the distance (120 minutes) against Brazil in the Gold Medal game at the Tokyo Olympics. The urgency to have Torres return before his two-week holiday begins after the Super Cup hints at a start for the highly rated defender.

Elsewhere, Villarreal has had its fair share of issues this offseason. A fairly large spread of COVID-19 in the side saw some players suffer setbacks during their preseason preparations. Further, Emery will be without a few key players. Dani Parejo misses out due to injury, as does Francis Coquelin. The absence of those two important midfielders will put a lot of the onus on Etienne Capoue, who will likely return for the trophy game. Juan Foyth’s status is unknown at the time as he looks to race back from a knock in time for kickoff on Wednesday evening. Elsewhere, Samuel Chukwueze returned to training after being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

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