Chelsea

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea face a third consecutive London derby, taking on a Fulham side who have drawn their opening two Premier League matches. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes before Saturday's game.

No Cole Palmer, no problem. Chelsea's Club World Cup final match-winner missed the trip to West Ham with a groin issue but Enzo Maresca's men were still far too strong for the Hammers, running out 5-1 winners.

With Palmer sidelined, summer signing Joao Pedro switched from centre-forward to number 10 and looked the part, contributing an early goal and two assists. Taking into account the Club World Cup, the Brazilian has six goal involvements in four competitive starts for his new side, quickly proving his worth following a move from Brighton last month.

The Blues' next opponents are neighbours Fulham, who won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge last season, claiming their first victory there since 1979.

Nonetheless, Chelsea still have a formidable overall record in this fixture, losing just three of 36 Premier League meetings, home and away. That equates to 8.3% - the joint-lowest loss rate by one club against another in a fixture played at least 20 times.

Will Silva's super subs strike again?

Fulham's win over the Blues on 26 December came courtesy of late goals from substitutes Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz, and the impact of players coming off the bench has been a recurring strength for Marco Silva's team.

Emile Smith Rowe's equaliser in Sunday's draw with Manchester United means Fulham subs have scored 19 Premier League goals since the start of last season, at least four more than any other club.

Raul Jimenez, their top scorer in 2024-25, lost his starting spot to Muniz against the Red Devils and may again have to settle for a place on the bench as he nears a career landmark. The 34-year-old needs one more appearance to become the first Mexican to play 200 Premier League games.

Chelsea looked lacklustre in their opener against Crystal Palace but then thrashed West Ham 5-1. The things is, how can you properly judge anybody who has played West Ham?

My gut feeling is Chelsea will have got a great deal of confidence from the manner in which they beat the Hammers last week.

I like Fulham under Marco Silva and the way they play could cause Chelsea one or two problems.

But I still think the Blues will come out on top in this West London derby.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham at Stamford Bridge (12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca confirmed Cole Palmer will miss Saturday's match with a groin problem, while Benoit Badiashille and Romeo Lavia remain out.

• Palmer has been left out of Thomas Tuchel's England squad and will be assessed "day by day", while Badiashille and Lavia will not return immediately after the international break but "will be closer".

• On coping without Palmer: "When Cole is not in the game, we need to find different solutions. Hopefully tomorrow we can do the same."

• More on Lavia's fitness: "Two years ago, he didn't play any games. Last year, he played some games. The target is to give him more games this season. I don't know [when he will be back]."

• Maresca confirmed the arrival of Alejandro Garnacho: "I know he is around here. It's quite clear his position is a winger and I see him as a winger."

• Asked if there could be more incomings before Monday's deadline, Maresca said: "You can expect anything with the transfer window open - anything can happen, in and out. I joined the club one year ago saying I was in love with the squad and it has got better. The feeling is the same."

• On the departing Christopher Nkunku, who is set to join AC Milan: "Christo is a fantastic professional, first of all. The only problem is that in his position is a player like Cole, so it is difficult for him to get some minutes."

• On Fulham's strengths: "Solid, well organised, they play nice football and it is not random they are doing well. Marco [Silva] is good, the players are good. We need to be careful, as always."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

England boss Thomas Tuchel has selected his 24-man squad for the September World Cup qualifiers.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Dean Henderson

Defenders: Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Adam Wharton, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice

Forwards: Harry Kane, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

West Brom are set to sign Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist for an initial £1.2m rising to potentially £2m with add-ons.

The 21-year-old is currently undergoing a medical in the Midlands and is expected to sign a four year contract.

Gilchrist had been training in Chelsea's so-called 'bomb squad' and was deemed surplus to requirements but proved his ability to play at Championship level at Sheffield United last season, featuring 32 times for the Blades.

The Chelsea academy graduate also played 17 times for his boyhood club under Mauricio Pochettino in a breakthrough season and scored once.

Chelsea now hold the Premier League record after selling £264.4m worth of players - not including potential add-ons.

After agreeing a fee for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho, 21, Chelsea are also prepared to make a £60m bid for Leipzig's Xavi Simons. (Metro), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The biggest question mark on Chelsea this season is how they handle simultaneous Premier League and Champions League campaigns.

They won't have the luxury of playing one stronger 11 in the Premier League and a second 11 in Europe - as they did last season with the Conference League.

Matches at home to Barcelona, Benfica and Ajax will need to be respected. As will away trips to Bayern Munich, Napoli and Atalanta.

There is also the long haul travel involved when facing Azerbaijani side Qarabag.

The one opportunity to rest players might be when former defender David Luiz's visits Stamford Bridge with his new Cypriot club Pafos.

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea's Champions League draw is complete and Enzo Maresca's side now know which eight clubs they will meet in the 36-team league format, which was used for the first time last season.

The Champions League fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be published no later than Saturday, 30 August.

The Blues will face:

• Barcelona (H)

• Bayern Munich (A)

• Benfica (H)

• Atalanta (A)

• Ajax (H)

• Napoli (A)

• Pafos (H)

• Qarabag (A)

Champions League group phase dates:

Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025

Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025

Matchday 3: 21-22 October 2025

Matchday 4: 4-5 November 2025

Matchday 5: 2-26 November 2025

Matchday 6: 9-10 December 2025

Matchday 7: 20-21 January 2026

Matchday 8: 28 January 2026

Champions League knockout stage dates:

Knockout phase play-offs: 17-18 and 24-25 February 2026

Round of 16: 10-11 and 17-18 March 2026

Quarter-finals: 7-8 and 14-15 April 2026

Semi-finals: 28-29 April and 5-6 May 2026

Final: 30 May 2026, Budapest

See how the rest of the draw played out

Image source, Getty Images

There are six Premier League teams in this season's Champions League.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham are about to find out who they will face in the league phase of the 2025-26 competition.

Follow it all unfold here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Christopher Nkunku's Chelsea career after the news broke on Thursday that AC Milan have agreed a £36m deal to sign the France forward.

Here are some of your comments:

Lloyd: Given his injury record we should never have bought him. Hopefully he's fully fit & can rebuild his career in Serie A like many of our former players.

James: Nkunku's time at Chelsea was derailed by the serious injury he got in his first pre-season. He could have been a star for us if he'd avoided that injury, but we'll never know.

But, if he had stayed fit and played at number 10 behind Jackson from the start of 2023-2024 would we have signed Cole Palmer? Or if we had still signed Palmer but Nkunku was fit, would Palmer have had the impact he has?

It was deeply unfortunate for Nkunku that he got injured and then found a real star in his way in terms of getting back into the team. Clearly he hasn't been a big success but the fact he hasn't was as much about bad luck than any failure on anyone's part. I wish him well elsewhere.

Kenneth: Didn't think he was given a long enough run in the team. We could regret this.

Stevie: Unfortunately it never worked out for a player who had such promise. Injuries were an issue but we also played him in ways which didn't get the best out of him. It just didn't work out - I think a move is best for both parties and I wish him all the best in the future.

Ahmed: Wishing Nkunku the very best in his new endeavours. He is a player I so much cherish but he couldn't stamp his authority on the field of play or match his talents as expected. It may be due to severe injuries and other related factors.

JJ: What a shame. I'm so sad to see my favourite player leaving.

Stuart: It's a shame because early promise in pre-season was then ruined by a bad injury he never really came back from. Would've been a useful squad player, but a fresh start is probably for the best for both player and club.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

AC Milan have agreed a £36m deal - including add-ons - to sign Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku.

Should the move go through it will bring to an end a difficult period in West London for the France international, that promised much but will ultimately be viewed as a disappointment.

Nkunku arrived from RB Leipzig for around £52m in the summer of 2023 on the back of scoring 58 goals across his final two seasons in Germany.

He was Mauricio Pochettino's first signing and was charged with helping ease the Blues' goalscoring woes after they scored just 38 times in the league during the troublesome 2022-23 campaign which ended in a 12th-place finish.

However, despite initially impressing on the club's pre-season tour of the USA, he picked up a serious knee injury against Borussia Dortmund and did not make his competitive debut until December that year.

What would follow is series of false dawns. Nkunku finished the 2023-24 campaign with three Premier League goals in 11 appearances but started just twice and missed a further nine games between March and May with a hamstring problem.

Last season, the 27-year-old managed to stay fit but struggled to establish himself as a regular fixture in the Chelsea Premier League starting XI under new boss Enzo Maresca and became somewhat of a peripheral figure amid the club's wealth of attacking riches.

Nkunku made 27 league appearances but started just nine times and was labelled a "problem that needs solving for Chelsea" by BBC football news reporter Nizaar Kinsella in January.

He did, however, find goalscoring form in the Conference League. In much-rotated Chelsea teams he scored seven times - including in the play-off - and started as many European games as he did in the Premier League.

However, a knock kept him out of both legs of the semi-final and the final four league matches as Maresca's side secured Champions League qualification. He was then an unused substitute in the Conference League final.

With his career at Stamford Bridge in real danger of fizzling out completely, the summer's Club World Cup gave a final opportunity to secure a more positive Stamford Bridge legacy.

Nkunku appeared in all six of Chelsea's games in the USA - including starting the round of 16 and semi-final - and scored a crucial goal in extra-time as the Blues defeated Benfica to reach the final four.

The writing has been on the wall for some time regarding his exit however, only made more certain with the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

A move to Serie A would bring the curtain down on a Chelsea career that had moments but - for a man who famously celebrates by blowing up a balloon he keeps in his sock - quickly became deflating for both club and player.

Chelsea fans, how do you reflect on Nkunku's Chelsea career?

Let us know here.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Yesterday we explained how Jadon Sancho's future is linked to Tyrique George's and there is a similar situation developing with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.

Both players are being allowed to explore options to leave Stamford Bridge but due to the late nature of the transfers window - much of the interest has been over loan moves.

There is also only one international loan slot left due to Fifa limiting all clubs to six overseas loans per season.

That means Chelsea are trying to sell both Jackson and Nkunku at the same time while also getting multiple suitors chancing their arm to take the last loan spot available from Stamford Bridge.

At the moment, it looks like Bayern Munich may get the opportunity to sign Jackson on an initial loan but negotiations continue over whether to include an option to buy, or make it an obligation to buy.

Those talks are no doubt emboldened by the situation around Nkunku, who has reportedly seen serious interest arrive from Milan to sign him on a permanent basis for the asking price of about £30m.

The situation around Nkunku remains complicated as he wants to play at a club in the Champions League and has a high salary which makes him less attractive to suitors.

Nkunku moving permanently would help Jackson move on loan or vice versa.

This is why they are linked and it leaves Chelsea needing to use domestic loans or sell the rest of their want-away players, including Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, George, David Datro Fofana and Alfie Gilchrist.

Manchester United are on the verge of agreeing a deal worth between £35m and £40m to sell 21-year-old Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho to fellow Premier League side Chelsea. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

AC Milan have entered the race for Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku, and the 27-year-old France international has also drawn interest from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and his former club RB Leipzig. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup third round, with 15 Premier League clubs having made it through or entering at this stage.

There are two all-Premier League ties, while holders Newcastle host League One Bradford City.

Ties will take place across two weeks, beginning on 15 and 22 September.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below in the order they were drawn:

• Port Vale v Arsenal

• Swansea City v Nottingham Forest

• Lincoln City v Chelsea

• Tottenham Hotspur v Doncaster Rovers

• Brentford v Aston Villa

• Huddersfield Town v Manchester City

• Liverpool v Southampton

• Newcastle United v Bradford City

• Wolves v Everton

• Crystal Palace v Millwall

• Burnley v Cardiff City

• Barnsley v Brighton

• Fulham v Cambridge United

See the full draw

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons has been given permission to travel to London to hold talks with interested clubs.

Both Tottenham and Chelsea are potential destinations for the 22-year-old.

Simons held talks with Chelsea throughout August but the west Londoners have stopped short of making an official bid.

It has left open the possibility of rival moves and Spurs are believed to have joined Bayern Munich in expressing an interest for the Netherlands international.

Spurs are targeting an additional number 10 after missing out on Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White.

It remains unclear whether Simons, who is among the highest earners in Germany, would be a financially viable option.

The draw for the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco.

It will start at 17:00 BST and will follow the same procedure as the 2024-25 campaign - the first season where the 36-team league phase format took place.

The draw is made up of 27 teams that qualified via league positions, the winners of last season's Champions League and Europa League, and the seven teams that progressed out of qualifying.

This season, there are six English sides involved - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle courtesy of finishing in the Premier League top five, and Tottenham after winning the Europa League.

The teams are split into four pots based on their individual Uefa club coefficient ranking.

Starting with pot one, each team will be drawn out individually. They will then be selected eight opponents via Uefa's automated software.

A team will play eight games in total, including two teams from each pot - one home and one away.

No group-stage fixtures can be played against teams from the same country, nor more than two against teams from the another country.

This procedure will continue until the fixtures for all 36 teams have been decided.

The Champions League fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be published no later than Saturday, 30 August.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United's Jadon Sancho and Chelsea's fellow winger Tyrique George find their futures strangely interlinked.

Sancho is Roma's first-choice target to strengthen their attack but multiple sources have suggested getting him out of Old Trafford is complicated.

One issue is his reported £300,000-a-week wages being an obstacle for any buying club, while sources in Italy also believe he is lukewarm about moving to the Serie A club.

Further complicating matters is United's ability to trigger an option to extend Sancho's contract for a further year, until 2027, to avoid him leaving for free after any loan deal should one be agreed.

Ultimately, talks between the three parties are complex, while Sancho's agent, Emeka Obasi, also works with Chelsea's George.

The 19-year-old has become a viable alternative for Roma, with Chelsea known to be open to a potential sale.

George is believed to welcome a move to the Stadio Olimpico and a source involved in the deal has explained that £25m should be enough to make it happen if a significant sell-on clause was included.

However, Sancho remains the first choice and any break in the impasse would be likely to result in Roma changing course back to the United man.

Chelsea have other interest in George in England and elsewhere in Europe.

Interestingly, the wingers played together last season at Chelsea and are known to have a close personal relationship.

Sancho is training in United's so-called 'bomb squad' away from the first-team group. George is training with Enzo Maresca's first team but was left out of the squad for Friday's trip to West Ham.

Chelsea are interested in United winger Alejandro Garnacho, Barcelona forward Fermin Lopez and RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons before the transfer deadline next week.