Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra will make their first competitive appearances for Chelsea when they take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday.
Chelsea will be eager to begin the Xabi Alonso era with a bang when they lock horns with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday night. The Spanish tactician has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s opening game of the 2026/27 season.
Wesley Fofana has a two-game suspension starting on Monday, and he will not be available to take on Fulham on Monday or Brighton & Hove Albion later this week. Additionally, Jordan Henderson (wrist) and Emmanuel Emegha (hamstring) remain in the treatment room.
However, Aaron Anselmino, Mamadou Sarr, and Danny Welbeck are fit and available to take on Fulham. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Alonso provided a fitness update on Welbeck and commented on the potential availability of players who returned late from international duty at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Chelsea manager said, “Danny can be involved, he just needed a couple of days not training that much because of a little thing. We expect him to be back [training] on Saturday. We need to go day by day, but that is the plan at the moment.”
“With the other players, let’s see. We will check and assess them, but for sure because of the World Cup they came back a little bit later and will need a little more time. But they are all available and can be selected in the line-up against Fulham, for sure.”
Robert Sanchez remains the first-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea, and the West London club will line up in a 3-4-3 formation in front of him against Fulham on Monday. The central defensive unit will feature Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill, and Jorrel Hato. Meanwhile, Reece James and Marco Palestra will start as the two wing-backs.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in the central areas. Finally, Joao Pedro, celebrating signing a new contract with the West London club, will lead the line for the away side, with Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Lacroix, Colwill, Hato; James, Fernandez, Caicedo, Palestra; Palmer, Pedro, Rogers