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Ben Palmer

Mon 18 August 2025 20:20, UK

Chelsea are facing a definite challenge this season after winning the Club World Cup trophy this summer.

That is according to former England and Southampton star Matt Le Tissier, who told Football Insider exclusively that he expects the Blues to “go off the boil” midway through the season.

Chelsea beat Real Betis in the Conference League final on 28 May, marking the end of a long 2024/25 campaign, before jetting off to the USA to play their first CWC match against LAFC on 16 June.

The Blues made it all the way to the final, beating PSG 3-0 at MetLife Stadium on 13 July.

Chelsea then played some pre-season friendlies at the beginning of August against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan, before starting their Premier League campaign with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on 17 August.

As a consequence, the West London club and their players have not had a break from playing since last summer, and even then, many of the club’s stars were involved in international competitions, with Cole Palmer making it to the European Championship final against Spain.

Cole Palmer’s last prolonged break from football came in 2023.

Credit: Imago

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This article contains exclusive comment from former Southampton and England striker Matt Le Tissier.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Le Tissier explained why he expected Chelsea to struggle this season, thanks to their participation in the CWC, although the former striker does not feel sorry for the players who have little time to recover.

He said: “I think it’s going to be a good challenge for the managers of both those clubs to manage the workload of those players.

Because Chelsea went that little bit further [than Man City], I think it will have a detrimental effect.”

When asked whether that had factored into his previous prediction to Football Insider that Chelsea would finish fourth this season, Le Tissier said: “There is a possibility of that, yeah.

(Credit: Imago)

“It wouldn’t surprise me if, around Christmas time, you see that their results just go off the boil a little bit because they’ve played a lot of months of consecutive football.

“And it does take its toll on the body, especially those players who are looking to go to the World Cup.

“If they’ve got half an eye on that, they’ve also got to have half an eye on how their body is during the season.

“It’s going to be a tough thing for the managers to try and manage the minutes of the players throughout the season.

So I don’t feel sorry for them.”

The Blues’ approach to their players being overplayed has been to simply sign as many young talents as possible.

However, Man City are now looking to hijack Chelsea’s pursuit of Xavi Simons, Pete O’Rourke told Football Insider exclusively.

Xavi Simons is a target for Man City and Chelsea.
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