Xabi Alonso officially gets his Chelsea tenure underway on Monday night with the Blues making the short trip across west London to take on neighbours Fulham in the Premier League
Enzo Fernandez
Xabi Alonso faces a big decision over whether to start Enzo Fernandez in Chelsea's trip to Fulham(Image: Ryan Pierse)
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Xabi Alonso's first official - meaning in a competitive match - starting line-up as Chelsea manager is a super intriguing one.
The Blues make the short trip to take on west London neighbours Fulham on Monday evening with both sides kicking off their 2026/27 Premier League campaign under the lights at Craven Cottage. At approximately 6:45pm (UK time), all eyes will be on whether Enzo Fernandez is included in the Chelsea XI for the match against the Cottagers.
There are, of course, other intriguing situations to look out for, but Fernandez is undeniably the biggest story going into Fulham vs Chelsea. With that said, football.london analyses whether the Argentina international, who continues to be linked with a move to Manchester City this summer, has a chance of being in the Blues' midfield or whether Alonso will go down a different route.
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That, and much more, below...
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A similar set-up from Xabi?
For the majority of pre-season, Alonso utilised a four-back formation. For the most part, it looked like an orthodox 4-2-3-1 system - something Chelsea supporters know all about after recent seasons under different management.
However, against his former club Real Sociedad, Alonso used a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 formation. And it worked wonders.
Chelsea played arguably some of their best football of the summer in their final pre-season match. Was that down to returning players, or the system itself? Both things can be true.
Either way, Alonso demonstrated how he is not married to one way of playing at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea insiders told football.london way back in May when Alonso was first appointed that one of the countless reasons the Blues decided to appoint the Spaniard was to do with his flexibility in tactical situations.
That makes predicting Alonso's XIs more difficult for opposition managers (and football.london, sadly). The 44-year-old coach must have been encouraged with what he witnessed against La Real at the weekend, and there might well be a temptation on his part to go with a three-at-the-back setup again, this time at Craven Cottage.
It looks for all of the world that Robert Sanchez will at least start the campaign as Chelsea's No.1 goalkeeper. The Blues are hoping Mike Penders will provide fierce competition for the Spaniard as the season rolls on but Sanchez is expected to be in between the posts on Monday night.
Robert Sanchez
Robert Sanchez will face stern competition for Chelsea's No.1 spot next season(Image: Ayush Kumar/Eurasia Sport Images)
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Wesley Fofana will miss the first two matches of the season after being sent off against Sunderland back in May. Unfortunately for the French defender, the ban carries into the new campaign but fortunately for Chelsea, they have a more than adequate deputy.
Josh Acheampong, rated extremely highly by senior officials inside the club, looks to be the perfect profile for that right-sided central defender. The way he carries the ball out of defence, similarly to what Fofana can do, means, on paper, he should be a natural replacement for the suspended Frenchman.
Alongside Acheampong is expected to be Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill. Those two should be Chelsea's go-to in the centre-back area across the course of the season. Fitness dependant, of course.
Pedro Neto shone last weekend as a right wing-back. Even with ongoing speculation over the Portugal international's future at Stamford Bridge, Alonso could look to use him in a similar role again on Monday, with the impressive Marco Palestra a candidate on the other flank. Pep Chavarria is of course an option from the bench.
Chelsea are open to selling Pedro Neto
Chelsea are open to selling Pedro Neto for the right price this summer(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
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Alonso could be tempted to leave Fernandez out for a couple of different reasons. One, of course, being the uncertainty and noise regarding his future at the club. Two being he has not, in the grand scheme of things, been around for too long this summer due to the Argentine midfielder being allowed an extended break after his World Cup exploits.
Reece James could instead be in midfield alongside the irreplaceable Moises Caicedo in Fulham.
In attack, it seems fairly certain that it will be a trio of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro. Sounds good, that, doesn't it?
We saw the start of what could become one of the Premier League's deadliest attacking trios in the 3-1 win over Real Sociedad. Palmer on the right, Rogers on the left and Joao Pedro, who produced some ridiculous form in pre-season, in the No.9 role.
Joao Pedro celebrates
Joao Pedro celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Real Sociedad(Image: Chris Lee - Chelsea FC)
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Dream Chelsea XI vs Fulham
football.london has come up with something like this (3-4-2-1): Sanchez; Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill; Neto, James, Caicedo, Palestra; Palmer, Rogers; Joao Pedro