Key EventsTeam NewsFulham Leno, Castagne, Bassey, Cuenca, Robinson, King, Berge, Bobb, Iwobi, Palacios, García.Substitutes: Lecomte, Tete, Reed, Rodrigo Muniz, Kevin, Charles, Sessegnon, Smith Rowe, De Fougerolles.Chelsea Sanchez, Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill, Gusto, James, Lavia, Hato, Palmer, Joao Pedro, Rogers. Substitutes: Penders, Barco, Pedro Neto, Fernández, Bynoe-Gittens, Welbeck, Quendal, Chavarria, Estevao. Referee John Brooks shares Jacob Steinberg. It’s a necessary reboot. Although it would be an exaggeration to say that Chelsea have gone from development center to retirement home, even after the signings of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck, there has been a clear change in strategy this summer. There are finally some adults in the room and, for Xabi Alonso, the hope is that bringing in more experience will help a team still packed with youngsters show more composure when adversity strikes. Discipline was an issue for Chelsea last season – they received 11 red cards in all competitions and many of the injuries were self-inflicted. Chelsea were impetuous, were booked too many times for dissent and were prone to collapse at the first sign of trouble. It is no surprise that Alonso, who was the epitome of calm during his playing career, has focused on maintaining “emotional control” before beginning his managerial tenure with Monday’s trip to Fulham. It will be a test of Chelsea’s mentality. Craven Cottage has been the scene of some spectacular implosions during the BlueCo era, the path to two 2-1 wins for Fulham over their neighbors softened by João Félix’s red card on his debut for Chelsea in 2023 and by Marc Cucurella’s sending off after 22 minutes last season. SharePreambleGood evening and welcome to live coverage of Fulham v Chelsea at Craven Cottage. A west London derby, featuring the last two Real Madrid managers, should be a solid entertainment option, especially since alternatives on British television include Street Cops: Catching the Yobs, Donnie Swaggart* and a repeat of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) in which Marty says his grave is being disturbed and Jeff discovers a plot to kidnap the heir to a fortune. Álvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso will surely last longer in SW6 than in Madrid. where a P45 was illuminated in their direction after about half a season each. Arbeloa’s task is to maintain the mid-table security that Marco Silva brought to Fulham, who have finished between 10th and 13th in the four seasons since promotion. If all goes really well, and he’s feeling frisky, Arbeloa could even take Fulham to Europe for the first time since 2011-12. Qualifying for Europe is the minimum for Alonso, especially since Chelsea failed to do so last season. For the ninth richest club in the world to finish tenth nationally could be described in some cultures as suboptimal. But in the short term, the lack of European football could be a blessing in disguise as Alonso tries to stabilize a club that has been all over the place in recent years. With Alonso in charge, Chelsea have the potential to take a shortcut back to the top of the Premier League. There is an argument that, on paper, only Arsenal have a stronger team. It’s time to see if they’re worth a damn on the field. Starts at 8pm* Unfortunately, this is not a mix of Donnie Darko, Sweeney Todd and Taggart.Share
