Premier League PREVIEW 24 Aug 2026: Fulham v Chelsea: New Eras for Arbeloa, Alonso in West London Derby

Fulham host Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Monday to close out the opening weekend of the Premier League season, with both west London clubs starting fresh under new head coaches. Alvaro Arbeloa takes charge of his first competitive game for Fulham after replacing Marco Silva, who left for Benfica, while Xabi Alonso takes his first Premier League game as Chelsea boss after leaving Real Madrid in January. The two were once Liverpool team-mates, and Arbeloa succeeded Alonso in the Real Madrid dugout before the pair meet again as rival club managers. Our model makes Chelsea only 41% favourites, reflecting how tight last season left these two: Chelsea finished tenth on 52 points, one place and only goal difference above Fulham's 52-point eleventh.

Team news favours the hosts. Alvaro Arbeloa will have close to a full squad to choose from for his first competitive game in charge of Fulham, with only Tom Cairney ruled out through injury and Joachim Andersen serving the final match of his suspension. Chelsea have a longer list of absentees for the trip: Xabi Alonso is without Caleb Wiley, Jordan Henderson, Aaron Anselmino, Mamadou Sarr, Emanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda through injury, while Wesley Fofana is suspended.

Arbeloa's rebuild has leaned on his old club, with Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios following him from Real Madrid to Craven Cottage among the summer's arrivals. "They are young players, with a lot of talent and ambition. They fit the way we want to play and they know what I expect from them. I am very happy to have them here with me," Arbeloa said of the pair. On taking over from Silva he added: "Marco did a great job. The players here were happy and comfortable with him, but now a new era begins. I know what I want and how I want to do it, but I also know how difficult this league is. I think we will be a difficult team to beat." Asked about facing his close friend Alonso, he said: "We are very good friends, but for 90 minutes we will give everything for our clubs."

History leans heavily towards the visitors: Chelsea have won 54 of the 94 all-time meetings between the sides to Fulham's 13, with 27 draws, in a fixture dating back to 1907, and Chelsea won last season's corresponding fixture 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. But Fulham have the happier recent memory at Craven Cottage itself, having won the last meeting there when they hosted Chelsea in January, a result that broke a run in which they had lost six of their previous eight home meetings with the Blues.