Chelsea head to Japan this summer ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
The Blues have been dealt a tricky start to the season with an away clash against Manchester United.
First though, their manager vacancy will have to be filled.
Maurizio Sarri guided the Blues to a third-place finish in the league and won the Europa League last term before taking the Juventus job this summer.
Frank Lampard is now in pole position to take over at his former club after Derby gave Chelsea permission to speak to their manager.
Sky Sports news reporter Rob Dorsett said: “There’s no surprise here – we’ve reported in the last few weeks that we expected Frank Lampard to be approached and that we thought he would accept.
“The only surprise perhaps is that it’s taken Chelsea so long to do it; Maurizio Sarri left nine days ago and it’s only on Tuesday that Chelsea have made that first approach.
“I would expect things to move pretty quickly from here – certainly before the end of this week, Lampard is expected to be in post as the new Chelsea manager.
“What happens next? Well, Lampard and his representatives will be free to meet with Marina Granovskaia to discuss personal terms and details of his contract – including who he would want as his backroom staff.”
Chelsea pre-season 2019 schedule
The Blues have four pre-season fixtures lined up this summer.
They will play two games in Japan, one game on home soil and one match in Austria.
All the kick-off times listed below are BST.
July 19: Kawasaki Frontale vs Chelsea – Nissan Stadium, 11am
July 23: Barcelona vs Chelsea – Saitama Stadium, 11.30am
July 28: Reading vs Chelsea – Madejski Stadium, 3pm
July 31: Red Bull Salzburg – Red Bull Arena, 2pm
