Football
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Perth Glory to play Diego Castro, Juande against Chelsea - Tony Popovic


Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic is hopeful he will be able to unleash Spanish duo Diego Castro and Juande in the clash with Premier League giants Chelsea.

Castro rejoined training on Friday after recently returning from Spain.

That session was also Juande's first appearance since signing a two-year deal with the club this week.

Juande, who's played in Spain's La Liga as well as in Italy and Belgium, will bolster Glory's midfield.

Perth are only four weeks into their preseason, meaning most of their players are still underdone.

Jason Davidson, Matt Spiranovic, Fabio Ferreira, Tomislav Mrcela, Ivan Franjic, and Tando Velaphi are among Glory's new recruits.

Popovic has the option of playing his full squad against Chelsea and he said he would utilise the opportunity to give everyone a go.

"I'm hopeful they can get at least a few minutes," Popovic said of Juande and Castro.

"I don't think [any of] the players are fit enough to play 90 minutes. It's just where we're at. It's understandable.

"Our focus is round one."


Popovic said the game against Chelsea was a "nice distraction."

"It's a very long pre-season in Australia -- 16, 17 weeks," he said.

"But when you know at the start of pre-season you're playing Chelsea, it's something that breaks it up. The players are excited and they want to put on a good show.

"We have a lot of young players who will get an experience of a lifetime playing against such a great club.

"I'm sure it's something they will never forget."

Chelsea are missing their World Cup stars.

But they have still brought a squad brimming with talent, with players such as Cesc Fabregas, David Luiz, Pedro and new signing Jorginho set to light up Perth.

New Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri, who was appointed only a week ago, will use the trip to Perth to familiarise himself with the squad.

Chelsea will hold an open training session at the WACA Ground on Saturday night and more than 45,000 fans are expected to turn out for the Monday night game at Optus Stadium.

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