Chelsea vs Manchester City Exhibition Game in St Louis: Open Thread

Tonight marks the first of many Premier League matches on US soil this summer. Chelsea plays Manchester City in St Louis tonight with the game kicking off at 8:20pm ET on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com (for viewers in the United States). If you live in the United Kingdom, the game will be shown live on ESPN. The game will also be streamed live on Manchester City’s website at http:\/\/www.mcfc.co.uk.

The match, which is sold out, will give soccer fans in the States a chance to see Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard before they head back to London tomorrow for England duty, as well as some of the top-class players on the planet.

Chelsea starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Christensen, Cole; Mikel, Loftus-Cheek; Azpilicueta, Mata, Benayoun; Ba

Man City starting XI: Hart, Clichy, Rekik, Kompany, Zabaleta, Garcia, Silva, Y Toure, Aguero, Tevez, Rusnak

Here’s video footage of the baseball field at Busch Stadium being converted to a soccer pitch:

Before, during or after tonight’s match, join the conversation with soccer fans around the globe in the comments section below.

Note that the game is blacked out in certain regions in the US on ESPN3. More info at http:\/\/espn.go.com/watchespn/blackout?id=936990