Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic thinks he knows what team Xabi Alonso should go with on 24 August.
Chelsea take on Fulham at Craven Cottage in their first game of the new Premier League season, looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025/26 campaign.
The Blues have signed the likes of Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix to help them do that.
Unsurprisingly, Begovic has named the two big-money signings in his starting XI for the trip to Fulham.
One player the ex-Bosnia and Herzegovina international has omitted, though, is Estevao Willian. Instead, he has gone with Pedro Neto.
That is one change most Chelsea fans would probably tell Begovic to make, swap Neto for Estevao. You can see the 39-year-old’s full team, which he put together on Sky Sports, below:
Asmir Begovic's Chelsea XI for Fulham away
Asmir Begovic's Chelsea XI for Fulham away
Of course, if Alonso wants to get Estevao, Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro all into the same team, he would probably have to shuffle Begovic’s attack a bit. In other words, move Palmer to the middle and Rogers to the left so that Estevao can start on the right.
Neto has only just linked up with the Chelsea squad after his participation at the World Cup, whereas Estevao has played in both of the Blues’ pre-season tour games and impressed in them.
Pedro Neto, Estevao and Liam Delap of Chelsea line up
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Despite having just returned from a hamstring injury not too long ago, Estevao looked sharp against Tottenham Hotspur and Western Sydney Wanderers.
He even managed to score against the former, though it was in vain in the end after Richarlison’s stoppage-time winner.
Geovany Quenda is also another option for the right flank, but you can see a battle between Estevao and Neto on the horizon.
Whatever the case, Begovic’s team is a strong one. If that is what Alonso goes with at Craven Cottage on the night, it should get the job done and hopefully set Chelsea up for a successful 2026/27 campaign.