Chelsea and Real Sociedad have confirmed their starting teams for their meeting at Stamford Bridge in the a friendly on Saturday.
The Blues are nine days away from their first competitive match under new head coach Xabi Alonso, travelling to Fulham in the Premier League.
Alonso is hoping to revive Chelsea's fortunes following their 10th-placed finish in 2025/26, losing as many games as they won in the top flight.
Sociedad start their La Liga campaign at Real Betis on August 21, having finished 10th last season and won the Copa del Rey.
Back at SW6. 📠pic.twitter.com/d34Ew2TH5p
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 15, 2026
Chelsea confirmed team vs Real Sociedad
For the first match at Stamford Bridge of his tenure, Alonso makes 11 changes from Chelsea's 3-3 draw with Johor Darul Ta'zim in Gelang Patah on Sunday.
New signings Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra are among the starters, while Aaron Anselmino, Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha had been injury doubts and are not involved.
Chelsea starting XI: Robert Sanchez; Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Marco Palestra, Reece James, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro
Chelsea substitutes:Â Mike Penders, Gabriel Slonina, Josh Acheampong, Pep Chavarria, Malo Gusto, Jorrel Hato, Valentino Barco, Dario Essugo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Geovany Quenda, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens
Sociedad full line up vs Chelsea
Sociedad make three alterations from their 2-1 defeat at Koln last Saturday, bringing in Take Kubo, Luka Sucic and Luken Beitia for Igor Zubeldia, Benat Turrientes and Alex Marchal.
Alvaro Odriozola has a long-term knee injury and 2025/26 top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal returns on the bench following his glorious World Cup campaign with Spain.
Orri Oskarsson has three goals in five pre-season appearances, while Carlos Soler has scored twice.
Real Sociedad starting XI:Â Alex Remiro, Jon Aramburu, Ander Barrenetxea, Orri Steinn Oskarsson, Yangel Herrera, Take Kubo, Sergio Gomez, Carlos Soler, Luka Sucic, Jon Martin, Luken Beitia
Sociedad substitutes:Â Unai Marrero, Theo Folgado, Aihen Munoz, Igor Zubeldia, Benat Turrientes, Mikel Oyarzabal, Pablo Marin, Arsen Zakharyan, Inaki Ruperez, Mikel Goti, Alex Marchal, Alex Lebarbier, Job Ochieng
Where to watch Chelsea vs Sociedad: TV and online streams
Kick-off on Saturday is at 14:00 BST (08:00 PT / 05:00 ET). Live coverage and streaming is on CFC Plus, which costs £14.99 a year.
Chelsea vs Real Sociedad stats
- These teams met at Stamford Bridge in a friendly in 2014, when new signings Thibaut Courtois, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa made their first Chelsea appearances
- Costa scored both goals in Chelsea's 2-0 win – the first after 58 seconds – while Blues striker Fernando Torres made his final appearance for the club in the game
- Jose Mourinho, who will meet Sociedad this season in his second spell as Real Madrid manager, was in his second tenure as Chelsea boss at the time of that match
- Mourinho guided Chelsea to the Premier League title by eight points ahead of Manchester City that season, as well as EFL Cup glory
- Chelsea's competitive record against Spanish clubs is W22 D18 L13, including their current two-match winning run in such fixtures, comprising a 3-0 home win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November 2025 and a 4-1 victory over Betis to win the Conference League in Wroclaw the previous May
- One of the managers Chelsea are set to face in this season's Premier League, David Moyes, took charge of Sociedad three months after that friendly at Stamford Bridge, succeeding Jagoba Arrasate
- Sociedad finished 12th in La Liga that season, helped by new Manchester City goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli
- They visited England in pre-season in 2025/26 to play two friendlies on August 9 against Bournemouth, drawing 1-1 in the first of those games through Ander Barrenetxea's 89th-minute equaliser
- The second game at the Vitality Stadium finished 0-0, preceding a season in which Sociedad finished 10th in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey
- They faced English opposition in the 2024/25 Europa League, drawing 1-1 at home to Manchester United before losing 4-1 at Old Trafford. Mikel Oyarzabal scored both of their goals
- Against English clubs, Sociedad's competitive record is W1 D3 L6. The last eight of those games have been against United, with the victory a 1-0 win at Old Trafford during the Europa League group stage in September 2022
