Premier League rivals Chelsea and Brighton will clash in Philadelphia as part of their pre-season tours this weekend.

The Blues are heading into a crucial period of preparation as they look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign in all competitions.

New Chelsea boss Pochettino has plenty of work to do this summer

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New Chelsea boss Pochettino has plenty of work to do this summerCredit: AFP

New boss Mauricio Pochettino is aiming to assess his squad and new signings while working out the best system for his players.

As for Roberto De Zerbi, he is getting his side ready for their first European campaign together after finishing sixth in the top flight last season. 

Chelsea vs Brighton: How to follow 

This friendly will take place on Saturday, July 22.

Kick-off at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia is scheduled for 7pm local time, which is 12am on Sunday morning UK time. 

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The match will be available to watch live on the official Chelsea App. 

Fans can tune in for free with coverage of the game beginning at 11:30pm.

Nkunku became a Chelsea player on July 1 after his pre-agreed move went through

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Nkunku became a Chelsea player on July 1 after his pre-agreed move went throughCredit: Getty

Chelsea vs Brighton: Team news 

Romelu Lukaku will not travel to the USA on Chelsea’s pre-season tour as the want-away striker is set to train back in London

New signings Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson are both expected to make their first appearances for the club on the tour. 

Reece James has had a possible knee injury assessed but the club remain positive that he will be fit.

As for Brighton, Mahmoud Dahoud, Joao Pedro, James Milner and Bart Verbruggen will all likely make their non-competitive debuts. 

Lukaku has not travelled with Chelsea to the USA

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Lukaku has not travelled with Chelsea to the USACredit: AFP

Chelsea vs Brighton: What has been said?

Chelsea are still falling short of Brighton’s valuation for Moises Caicedo, but Seagulls manager De Zerbi has hinted that offered Levi Colwill the other way could unlock the deal.

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The Blues have had bids rising to £70million rejected for the 21-year-old, with Brighton demanding closer to £100million for their star midfielder.

For now, De Zerbi insists Caideco remains a Brighton player.

But with the south coast club keen to re-sign Colwill from the Blues in a permanent deal after his successful loan, the boss suggested a deal could be struck.

“At the moment Moises is a Brighton player,” De Zerbi said ahead of Chelsea and Brighton friendly in the United States.

“I spoke with Tony Bloom and he told me if the conditions don’t change, Moises stays with us.

“For me it should be great news because it is difficult to find another player like Moises.”

He continued: “There are two questions. Not only about Caicedo, also about Colwill, and maybe it can be [a swap].

“I would like to play with Caicedo and Colwill together but at the moment I can only speak about Caicedo as Colwill is not one of my players.”

De Zerbi is keen to see Colwill return to Brighton

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De Zerbi is keen to see Colwill return to BrightonCredit: Getty

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has been speaking about spending time in America. 

The former Brighton left-back said: “The first time was five years ago now, when I went with Barcelona in pre-season. We did a USA tour and I remember playing against Spurs, Roma and AC Milan.

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“The only city I remember well was San Francisco and we didn’t have much time, but I also remember we were in Los Angeles because we went walking around Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Hills and stuff like that.

“I like America but I’ve never been on holiday because it is a long way to travel, but for sure I will go in the future, maybe to see Miami or LA. Or maybe New York because people say that in winter or at Christmas it is very nice. When I have time I will go there.”

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