Chelsea’s first pre-season friendly confirmed with 2,500 opposition supporters admitted

Chelsea will kick off their 2020/21 pre-season with a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday and the south coast club announced that 2,500 tickets will go on sale to their season ticket holders and members as part of the government’s latest set of events. pilot.

However, no Chelsea fans will be allowed into the Amex stadium for a match in which Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner are expected to make their debut for Frank Lampard’s side.

The teams will meet for their first Premier League match on 14 September, again at Amex, meaning this friendly was in doubt. However, clubs are encouraged not to travel too far for pre-season matches and the proximity between Brighton and Cobham made the solution possible.

Lampard is also likely to give Ethan Ampadu and Conor Gallagher minutes as he tries to settle on his team for the richest campaign of all time.

In a statement on their website, Brighton said: “The government approved the event on Wednesday afternoon, and the match is the first at the stadium to include fans since the lockdown began in March. As this is not about a league match, tickets will be sold for the season – ticket holders and Club 1901 members in priority windows, based on loyalty points.

“The match is paid and in the unlikely event that the match does not run out, there will be no ticket sales during the day. Please note that tickets will not be made available to Chelsea fans as we are not authorized to admit visiting fans.

“To comply with the government’s traceability rules, booking a ticket for this match requires that you make sure your personal and contact details are all up to date and that you have provided the club with a working mobile number.”