Chelsea players make competitive debuts

Five of Chelsea's nine new signings including club record buy Damien Duff, Juan Sebastian Veron and Geremi will make their competitive…

Five of Chelsea's nine new signings including club record buy Damien Duff, Juan Sebastian Veron and Geremi will make their competitive debuts in the Champions League qualifier against Slovakian champions MSK Zilina this evening.

Chelsea will have almost £52 million of new talent on display. Duff joined for £17 million from Blackburn, Veron cost £15 million from Manchester United and Geremi £6.9 million from Real Madrid.

Wayne Bridge, who joined for seven million from Southampton, and Glen Johnson (West Ham, six million) are the two other new players starting for the first time in a competitive game following the club's £74.0 million spending spree under new owner Russian Roman Abramovich.

The four new players missing from the starting line-up for the third qualifying round first leg match are Adrian Mutu, Joe Cole, Marco Ambrosio and goalkeeper Juergen Macho.

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The only survivors from last season are goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, defenders Marcel Desailly and John Terry, midfielder Frank Lampard and striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Striker Mikael Forssell, who spent last season on loan at Borussia Moechengladbach, will also start but there was no place for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.

MSK Zilina: 18-Ivan Trabalik; 4-Martin Konecny, 5-Martin Durica, 6-Zdeno Strba, 7-Branislav Labant, 8-Radoslav Zabavnik, 10-Miroslav Barcik, 11-Marek Bazik, 12-Vladimir Stas, 20-Dusan Sninsky, 26-Richard Varadin

Chelsea: 23-Carlo Cudicini; 2-Glen Johnson, 6-Marcel Desailly, 26-John Terry, 18-Wayne Bridge, 14-Geremi, 20-Juan Sebastian Veron, 8-Frank Lampard, 11-Damien Duff, 32-Mikael Forssell, 22-Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Referee: Rene Temmink, Netherlands