Chelsea vs Swansea City preview: Tickets, team news, line up and odds

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Vaishali Bhardwaj7 August 2015

Jose Mourinho's Premier League champions Chelsea will be looking to put their difficult pre-season results behind them when the Blues open the new season with a home match against Swansea City.

Chelsea will not come into the game at Stamford Bridge full of confidence after losing to Fiorentina and Arsenal in recent days, but the west Londoners will want to kick-start the 2015-16 campaign in strong fashion as the club attempt to become the first side since Manchester United in 2009 to retain their league crown.

Swansea, meanwhile, have enjoyed a positive pre-season, going unbeaten in their last five fixtures and will be aiming to cause an upset at the home of the champions after having shocked United in their first game of last season at Old Trafford.

But when is the match, who are the favourites to win and how are both teams looking as they come into the clash? Read on to find out more about Chelsea's opening Premier League game against Garry Monk's Swansea side.

Date, time and venue

Chelsea begin their title defence on Saturday 8 August at Stamford Bridge. The game kicks off at 5.30pm.

Where to watch

Fans can catch the match live on Sky Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 5pm.

Tickets

Chelsea members can still get their hands on tickets for the team's Premier League opener from the club's official website, here.

Swansea supporters can also purchase tickets to watch the game. Fans should visit the club's site here to find out more information.

On target: Diego Costa scored a hat-trick against Swansea last season
Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Form and recent encounters

Chelsea come into the match having endured a disappointing pre-season. Mourinho recalled his squad later than many of the Blues' Premier League rivals, with the squad undergoing double training sessions in their pre-season camp in Montreal to make up for it.

Despite preparing in the ideal weather conditions of the Canadian city, Chelsea suffered a surprise 4-2 friendly loss to a second-string New York Red Bulls side before they earned narrow victories over Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona on penalties.

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After then losing 1-0 to Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday, the Blues wrapped up their final International Champions Cup friendly against Fiorentina on Wednesday with another 1-0 loss.

Swansea, on the other hand, have not tasted defeat in pre-season this year. Monk's men opened up their preparations with a 1-1 draw away to Borussia Monchengladbach before beating 1860 Munich 2-1 and then earning three successive draws against Reading, Nottingham Forest and Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna.

Despite Swansea's positive results, though, Chelsea will have last season's double over the Welsh side to galvanise them ahead of Saturday.

Those fixtures saw Mourinho's side beat Swansea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge in September before they thrashed the club 5-0 away in January.

Diego Costa proved vital in both games after the striker got a hat-trick in the 4-2 victory at home - his first in a Blues shirt - and also scored twice at the Liberty Stadium although he could be missing for the match at the Bridge on Saturday.

The Blues will also be buoyed by the fact they have won 12 of their last 13 opening-day games - and 14 of the last 16. The last time Chelsea lost their first match of the campaign was when Coventry City beat the Blues 2-1 in 1998.

In addition, Monk has lost all three competitive games against Chelsea since taking charge of the Swans in 2014.

Team News

Mourinho has an almost fully-fit team to choose from although his major concern remains the fitness of Costa.

The Brazilian-born Spain international came off midway through the club's win over Barcelona last week before missing out on the defeats to Arsenal and Fiorentina with an apparent recurrence of the hamstring issue that plagued him last season.

Mourinho has since admitted Costa's injury is a "concern" and it remains to be seen whether he will miss out on a place in the team on Saturday.

Monk, though, has no such concerns and revealed this week he has all his players fit and ready for Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea possible XI: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Remy.

Swansea possible XI: Fabianski, Naughton, Williams, Fernandez, Taylor, Ki Sung-Yueng, Cork, Routledge, Shelvey, Ayew, Gomis.

Difficult: Jose Mourinho admits Swansea will provide a tough test for Chelsea
GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

What they’re saying

Chelsea manager Mourinho: "It's a difficult kick-off to the season for us. He [Monk] is doing very well and the club is doing magnificently. Garry's got a good team already but he's improved the team.

"It's a very good team and he's a very good young manager at a club that I admire a lot."

Swansea manager Monk: "We are under no illusions of how hard a task it will be.

"We are determined to try and improve on what we did last year but we know it will be very difficult. But we have a fully-fit squad, we'll prepare the way we always do and hopefully put on a good show."

Odds (William Hill)

Chelsea to win: 12/5

Swansea to win: 11/1

Draw: 9/2

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