IT will be the start of a new era when Chelsea face Wrexham on their American tour.

For the second year in a row the Blues come up against Phil Parkinson's side in a pre-season friendly across the pond, with tonight's clash taking place in Santa Clara, California.

There is a new man in the dugout and fans will get to see a Chelsea side coached by Enzo Maresca for the first time.

Brought in as a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino in early June when he swapped Leicester City for Stamford Bridge, the Italian is tasked with reviving the fortunes of the Blues who finished sixth in the Premier League last season.

Maresca led the Foxes to the Championship title last season and a new dawn begins for Chelsea against Wrexham.

It is an opportunity for new signings to get their first run-out in a Chelsea shirt, including Maresca’s former Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and centre-back Toisin Adarabioyo, who arrived from Fulham.

Other established names such as Reece James, Malo Gusto, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson could also feature while exciting young players, such as Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman, are set to be involved.

When the teams met 12 months, Chelsea got their pre-season campaign off to a winning start as a brace from Ian Maatsen and goals from Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Ben Chilwell secured a 5-0 victory in front of 50,000 supporters in Chapel Hill.