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Chelsea set to face Barcelona, PSG in U.S. preseason tour

With the Premier League title within reach, Chelsea are planning to celebrate with a tour of the United States as part of the International Champions Cup this summer.

Matches with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain highlight Chelsea's fixtures in the preseason event, with any drawn games after 90 minutes settled by a penalty shoot-out.

Manchester United will also play in the cup, defending their title from last summer, but will not face their Premier League rivals.

Chelsea will stay on the U.S. east coast before completing their fixtures at home. The Blues open the competition against the New York Red Bulls at their home in Harrison, New Jersey on July 22.

They then travel south to face PSG, who knocked them out of the Champions League this season, on July 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Their U.S. tour concludes against Barcelona in Washington, D.C., where Lionel Messi drew major media attention on a visit with Argentina last month. Chelsea complete the tournament on Aug. 5 at Stamford Bridge against Fiorentina.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini played for the LA Galaxy in 2013, and he said he's looking forward to his old club coming Stateside again.

The 41-year-old Italian said at Tuesday's news conference: "From my own experience, I know how much the soccer fans here love European football, and especially the Premier League.

"This tournament gives a big opportunity to these supporters to come and watch their heroes live, which is amazing.

"As a club it is fantastic for us to connect with our soccer fans here in the United States and [we are] looking forwards to some big games against great opponents."