Having made a winning start to our tour of Australia and Asia on Tuesday, defeating A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers, the Blues now face a more familiar opponent at Accor Stadium in a game you can watch live on CFC+.
We have faced Tottenham more than 180 times in our history, but never on Australian soil. It’s why Alonso appreciates the game is a unique opportunity for the Chelsea fans Down Under, in addition to being another important step in our pre-season programme.
He said: ‘For sure it’s special coming here to Sydney and playing a London derby. We are expecting a competitive game. It’s going to be a good test, but even though it’s pre-season it’s going to be a good game.
‘We want to use the time properly, collectively and individually. The players are committed with what we are doing. Game time is what they like – they like to train too, but they like to play more – so for each of them it’s a natural progression during pre-season.’
Tonight’s game brings an end to our first week on tour – and the Blues will depart Sydney tomorrow for the second leg of our tour in Hong Kong. Alonso is enjoying the time with his players, and the opportunity to work closely with them on and off the pitch.
He said: ‘We need all the players to be in a good mood and mindset to create this team spirit.
'We are missing some players who will join after the tour, but the ones who are here we are spending time getting to know them as people. We know the players very well, but we need to know them as people as well.’
Watch live on CFC+!
You can watch Chelsea vs Tottenham live on CFC+ with a single match pass starting at £9.99. At the same time, a full CFC+ subscription costs just £14.99 for the year, and includes all our pre-season games as well as a plethora of additional exclusive Chelsea content.