Fulham v Chelsea: Key stats and talking points
Fulham v Chelsea: Key stats and talking points
Matt Jones - BBC Sport journalistSun, August 23, 2026 at 12:04 PM UTC
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Week one of the 2026-27 Premier League season signals the start of a new era for London rivals Fulham and Chelsea. They meet on Monday night (20:00 BST) at Craven Cottage.
The home side have a new coach in the dugout for the first time in five years. Marco Silva moved on at the end of last season following the expiration of his contract, and Fulham made the bold choice to appoint former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa as his replacement.
As for Chelsea, after a tumultuous 2025-26 season in which they had three different head coaches, they have opted for Xabi Alonso – another former Real Madrid boss – to steady the ship and take the team forward.
Bouncing back after Los Blancos
For Alonso and Arbeloa, this season will be about shaking off challenging respective campaigns in the Spanish capital.
The former took charge of Los Blancos at the start last season and was replaced by his former Liverpool team-mate after being sacked in January. Arbeloa also found the Madrid squad too tricky to tame and was given his marching orders at the end of the season.
A fresh start should do both of them good in theory. Arbeloa has sought to bring some gems from the Bernabeu with him to west London, though, with Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios signing from Real Madrid.
They could help Arbeloa make an early imprint on a squad that was forged in Silva's image over five years. A fast start is something that has eluded the Cottagers in recent seasons too, as they have won just one of their past six Premier League openers.
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Change of plan for Chelsea?
After being appointed in May, Alonso has had plenty of time to put together his plan for the new campaign.
While Chelsea have spent big again, there has been a shift in their transfer strategy. Across the previous seven transfer windows, the Blues have signed 30 players at an average age of 20.5; this summer, they have added eight first-team players with an average age of 25.6.
The arrivals of 35-year-old Danny Welbeck and 36-year-old Jordan Henderson would indicate that Alonso feels some experience is essential in what remains a young squad.
They will both be keen to offer something on the pitch too, though. Welbeck, in particular, was fantastic for Brighton last season and netted 13 times in the Premier League.
This year will be a significant one for the former Manchester United and Arsenal man. Welbeck is set to feature in his 19th Premier League season, playing at least once in every campaign since and including 2008-09. This will be the joint-most seasons played by any striker in the competition's history, equalling Jermain Defoe (19) and overtaking Peter Crouch (18).
Welbeck and the rest of the new acquisitions will be key in uplifting the Chelsea squad after the wheels fell off last season in spectacular fashion.
From the start of March, the Blues lost a whopping eight Premier League matches, which was the most of any team in the division.
Source: “AOL Sports”
