MADRID comes to SW6 on Monday night as Alvaro Arbeloa welcomes Xabi Alonso for Chelsea’s shortest away trip of the season. The last two men to manage Real Madrid before Jose Mourinho’s return now open the Premier League campaign in opposite dugouts, both taking charge of their first competitive game in English football.
Fulham begin life after Marco Silva, who left for Benfica after five years and was replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa on a three-year deal in July.
The Cottagers finished 11th on 52 points last season, a single point and an inferior goal difference short of European qualification, and won eleven times at Craven Cottage including against both Chelsea and Tottenham. Arbeloa signed off a six-match pre-season with a 1-0 win over VfB Stuttgart, Timothy Castagne heading in an Alex Iwobi corner.
Chelsea are on their third permanent head coach in eight months after the departures of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, with Xabi Alonso taking over a side that finished 10th and lost the FA Cup final.
The Blues broke the British transfer record to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m, added Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace for £52m and brought in Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck for experience. Rogers marked his debut with a goal in a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad, Joao Pedro taking his pre-season tally to seven with a brace.
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The betting angle: Can Fulham’s fortress survive Alonso’s £117m rebuild?
Arbeloa is asking for something different from the side Silva left behind, pushing his full-backs high to provide the width while the wingers tuck inside, and that is a lot of new information for a squad still absorbing Gonzalo Garcia, Cesar Palacios, Oscar Bobb and Shea Charles. Losing Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson has thinned the goalscoring, and Opta’s supercomputer gives Fulham a 23.4% chance of going down after Silva never finished lower than 13th in four full seasons.
The timing of the team news is unkind. Joachim Andersen is suspended, removing the centre-back who partnered Calvin Bassey in more than half of Fulham’s league games last season, while Tom Cairney is injured. Bassey wore the armband against Stuttgart and will need to marshal a reshuffled back line on a night when the Cottage will be at full volume.
Chelsea, by contrast, have had the luxury of a full week on the grass, with Alonso confirming five sessions before kick-off. He fielded the 3-4-3 that served him so well at Bayer Leverkusen in his first outing at Stamford Bridge, and Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro give him a level of individual quality Fulham cannot match.
The Blues are not at full strength either, with Wesley Fofana suspended and Emmanuel Emegha, Henderson and possibly Levi Colwill unavailable, and Fulham have recent proof they can hurt these opponents after beating Chelsea 2-1 here last season.
Expect a tight, tetchy derby that opens up late, with Chelsea’s front line eventually finding the gaps in an unfamiliar Fulham defence but the hosts getting on the scoresheet in front of their own supporters.
Our tip: Chelsea to Win and Both Teams to Score
The longshot: Chelsea to win 2-1 & Joao Pedro to score anytime
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📺 How to watch Fulham vs Chelsea
Date: Monday, 24th August, 2026
Kick-off: 8:00pm BST
Venue: Craven Cottage, London
TV Channel: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League
Highlights: Sky Sports App, YouTube
About the author
Craig Mahood
Craig Mahood is an expert in sports betting and online casinos and has worked with the company since 2020. He joined the Betting & Gaming team at The Jattvibe in June 2022 and works closely with the leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to provide content on all areas of sports betting and gaming. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter at the Scottish Jattvibe, covering Scottish football with particular focus on Celtic and Rangers, As well as football, he has covered horse racing, boxing, darts, the Olympics and tennis for the Jattvibe.
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