Chelsea

Aside from the opening weekend's game with Crystal Palace and the final fixture of the season at Sunderland, all dates are subject to change as a result of broadcast and other requirements.

See Chelsea's full fixture list here

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After beating champions Liverpool last month, Chelsea will look to repeat the feat when they host Arne Slot's men at the start of May. Enzo Maresca's Blues make the trip to Anfield on weekend of 9-10 May.

In terms of other potential title rivals, first up for Chelsea is a home game against Arsenal on weekend of 29-30 November, while they will travel to Emirates Stadium at the end of February.

They must wait till the first game of January for a trip to Manchester City before hosting Pep Guardiola's side on weekend of 11-12 April.

As for west London derbies, Chelsea host Fulham in their second home game of the season with the trip to Craven Cottage set for weekend of 7-8 January.

Meanwhile, the fixtures against Brentford - still searching for a manager after Thomas Frank's departure to Tottenham - are after the international break in September and the first home game of 2026.

Speaking of Spurs, the Blues travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on weekend of 1-2 November, before entertaining their rivals for the final home game of 2025-26 in May.

And what about the schedule over Christmas and New Year? Well, Chelsea's four festive fixtures include home matches against Bournemouth and Aston Villa and trips north, adding a visit to Newcastle to their trip to Manchester City.

Finally, Maresca's men close their campaign by travelling to Sunderland on Sunday, 24 May 2026 - when all 10 matches will kick off at 16:00 BST.

Looking at the fixture list, where do you think Chelsea will be after 10 games? Have your say here

Chelsea will host Crystal Palace in their opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

The match will take place on Sunday, 17 August at 14:00 BST, with the Blues' first away fixture against West Ham United on the weekend of 23-24 August.

See Chelsea's Premier League fixtures in full here

Where do you think you will be after 10 games and what do you make of how the fixtures have fallen? Tell us here

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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If you are working on the Club World Cup - this reborn competition - as a journalist or influencer, you have to sound hyper excited, but I feel browbeaten into showing some love for Infantino's 'beautiful' baby, otherwise I am portrayed as an unfeeling Grinch.

I will give it a chance before I decide, while doing my very best to ignore all the tiresome fake razzamatazz surrounding the games. It is clearly a bunch of steps too far for exhausted players but if the tournament takes off and delivers some great football that feels meaningful, I'll be here to give it every praise.

Maybe a 0-0 opener wasn't exactly what Fifa and its cheerleaders wanted, neither was the 10-0 embarrassment between Bayern and Auckland, but is a 63 game tournament over 29 days.

Let's wait and see.

The most concerning thing for Fifa must be the feeble ticket sales particularly at the inflated prices initially advertised for some early games. Empty stadiums are not a good look, even if you move the fans and instruct the TV cameras to veer away from the empty spaces. With streaming free in the UK and other regions, there have been staggering sums spent on this tournament. If it doesn't work and the sums do not add up, this loss leader for Fifa could yet become one of the biggest financial white elephants in sporting history.

If it does work, then this is the future of football and could in time grow to be bigger than the Champions League or the World Cup. This is certainly Fifa's vision and it is why the staggering sums have been spent here in the first place.

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Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel believes Chelsea could be winning the Champions League again within the next four years.

The Blues last won the trophy four years ago, when they beat Manchester City in Porto in 2021 thanks to a goal from ex-forward Kai Havertz.

As a result, Chelsea qualified for the new-look Fifa Club World Cup which began at the weekend and will take place on a quadrennial basis.

They got their campaign underway on Monday night with a 2-0 win over LAFC, however, the Blues were not at their free-flowing best with some fans suggesting it was the "same old problems" for the side.

After a somewhat tumultuous three years since the new ownership took over, Chelsea looked to finally be seeing some of the fruits of the overhaul after qualifying for the Champions League and securing silverware with the Conference League trophy.

That all despite having the youngest ever team in a single campaign in the Premier League last season at an average of 24 years and 36 days old.

Speaking after the game on DAZN, Mikel said boss Enzo Maresca "is building something special".

He continued: "Don't forget the team is a very young team. We're putting so much pressure on them, it's a very young team.

"If you look at this team in the next two, three, four years, I think we could be talking about them winning the Champions League."

Do you agree with Mikel? Or could it still be a while before Chelsea are lifting that European trophy again?

Make your choice

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter, in Atlanta

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Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia says he likes the Club World Cup individual walkouts as he bids to overcome his injury issues.

The 21-year-old started the 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in Chelsea's opening match of the newly expanded tournament in the United States.

Before kick-off, as with the other matches at Fifa's tournament, each individual player was announced and walked out separately at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

When asked about the experience, Lavia said he liked it: "I think it's something special and new for us. It's a first for us. I enjoyed it. Why not bring it to the Premier League?"

He added: "I mean, it's a bit of a showbiz thing, isn't it? I quite like it. The only difference is [if we did it in the Premier League], we might get a bit cold because once you're out there, you have to wait for maybe the other players.

"But apart from that, it was good. I guess we always learn new things from international tournaments and that's what makes it special."

Defender Tosin Adarabioyo also spoke of the entrances and laughed as he said: "It's something new! We buy into it. We've not done it before so it's a new experience for us all."

Lavia faces new competition after Chelsea signed Dario Essugo from Sporting while also recalling another midfielder in Andrey Santos from his successful loan spell at Strasbourg.

"It's what is needed for the club of this level, so it's all healthy," said Lavia.

"We all have great connections together. It's just about doing our best every day, and then the manager must decide who he wants to pick, but all the players are going to be ready."

But Lavia also needs to improve on his fitness record having made just one substitute appearance in his first season at Stamford Bridge and a further 19 appearances this season, meaning he has missed more matches than he has been available for.

Lavia was then asked whether he hopes to ever emulate Moises Caicedo's feat of starting in all 38 Premier League matches and said: "I'm doing everything possible to stay fit, and playing as many games as possible.

"I think the biggest 'credit' a footballer can have is to be available. It's definitely something I'm aware of.

"So I do everything possible to stay fit. Honestly, all the injuries I have had before, I just want to put them behind me and look forward to the future feeling good. So I don't know why I should be thinking about the injuries."

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says he hopes Cole Palmer will continue to show initiative in his play after impressing in their opening win at the Club World Cup.

The Blues began their tournament with a convincing victory over Los Angeles FC and the Chelsea boss was pleased with his number 10's performance.

"I had a short conversation with Cole and I said to him that I really like the way he was today," said Maresca speaking post-match

"He took responsibility, showed initiative on the ball. He was trying to receive the ball, go one-versus-one against players, and this is the Cole we expect."

This was Chelsea's first game of pre-season, with their last match being their victory over Real Betis in the Uefa Conference League final.

Maresca added: "After the Conference League final, Cole said he was bored when receiving the ball, so he decided to do something different. The day after that interview, I said to him that he could do it from the first minute and why did he wait so long? Why not do the same after one minute?"

"Today he was doing exactly that, and we are happy when he does that. I've said many times Cole is our best player, a top player, and hopefully he can continue to do the right things."

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Chelsea have announced they will host a mini-tournament in August involving Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan as post-Club World Cup preparations for the new campaign.

The competition will kick off on 8 August, with the hosts taking on Bundesliga runners-up Leverkusen, now managed by Erik ten Hag.

The Blues wrap up the weekend on 10 August, taking on AC Milan, led once again by Massimiliano Allegri.

Should Chelsea progress to the final of the Club World Cup, then there would be less than a month of rest for the players.

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With the transfer window now open again until 1 September, we asked for you to tell us one player you want to bring to Chelsea and one player you want the club to sell.

Here are some of your comments:

Nick: Out - Sterling. Big part of the wage bill and has proven ineffective so needs to go. In - Ideally Maignan. Still not old for a goalkeeper and should be relatively 'cheap', but has a lot of experience that could be passed on to our future 'keepers like Slonina and Penders.

Ewan: Sell the liability that is Robert Sanchez and bring in Dean Henderson.

Cammy: As much as I have backed Nicolas Jackson, I feel his red card against Newcastle was a real 'sliding doors' moment regarding his Chelsea career, and as such, I'd be happy to see him moved on. As for who could replace him, I like the idea of Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart. He's versatile, has a different profile than we already have and most importantly, fits the Clearlake model.

Jeremy: Nkunku to sell. It's been clear to see that he's disillusioned with life at Chelsea and wants out. No point in keeping an unhappy player or even taking him with us to the Club World Cup. Someone that we should sign is Osimhen to be the main striker. Delap is one for the future, but he still needs development and would learn a lot from having Osimhen as a team-mate.

Liam: Sell Sanchez- a good shot stopper but vulnerable from crosses and has a tendency to play us into dangerous situations. Buy Eze - proven in the Premier League and could be tempted to showcase his talent in the Champions League. Would work well on the left side or could even come more central to reduce the burden on Palmer who looked fatigued at the second half of last season.

In this weeks episode, BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast takes a look at the 2004/05 Premier League season when Jose Mourinho delivered Chelsea their first league title in 50 years.

Mark Chapman, Chris Sutton and Rory Smith look back on Mourinho's debut season and hear from midfielder Claude Makelele on his role within the team. Sir Alex Ferguson also offers his take on his rivalry with the Chelsea boss.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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We asked for your views on Chelsea's opening Club World Cup match against Los Angeles FC in Atlanta.

Here are some of your comments:

Thabiso: Same old problems - ponderous build-up, flimsy press and panicky defence. On the plus side, Liam Delap looks like the menace up front we have been crying out for.

Phil: A bit lethargic but this was only a group game. Noni Madueke was poor, but Nicolas Jackson and Delap looked good, and Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto linked up well together. We need to improve as the tournament progresses but let's not forget this is also part of our pre-season, so rotation and resting will be part of the overall plan.

Olllie: Same old, same old. Palmer carrying the rest of the average bunch. Delap looked good for the minutes he got, but still no spark of excitement for the fans. We need to up our game massively.

David: Chelsea were pretty good after they settled down. While every Chelsea fan wants them to win every game and fixture, Neto is showing how good he is and Palmer seems to be coming out of his shell. Things can only get better (we hope).

Ron: We are still too slow and deliberate in our build-up from defence to attack. Still don't agree with our style of play but Delap looks like a good buy. He makes good runs off the ball, which help to open up well set up defences. Looking forward to seeing some more of the new youngsters, but feel we need another strong central defender and keeper.

Tom: Loved the energy Delap brought to the game when he came on. Great movement and touch to put Enzo Fernandez in for his goal. Very excited about this signing!

Gary: I thought we were very flat against a poor side. We still need a world-class forward and a goalkeeper just to get us closer to the top three, but will we address those positions?

Nick: We were only troubled occasionally, when playing sloppily and losing concentration. Neto was the clear man of the match but Flamengo will be a tougher game for us on Friday.

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Following his Chelsea debut in the 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC at the Club World Cup, Liam Delap's new team-mates have backed the £30m man to be a success at the club.

After Delap made an impressive cameo appearance from the bench in the second half, defender Levi Colwill said: "I've known Liam for a long time now, and I've played against him loads of times. Growing up, you know what sort of players are going to make it and he was always one of those.

"To have him in our team, to train against him, to see him score goals - which I know he will - I'm very excited."

Much has been made of Delap taking on the number nine shirt at Stamford Bridge, but Colwill is not expecting him to feel the pressure.

"I know he wouldn't listen to that or read too much into it because he's a confident player. He's an amazing player, and we know he's going to score goals for Chelsea. That's the mentality we need from every player."

Meanwhile, Tosin Adarabioyo added: "He's settled in very well. He's a good young lad and we know what qualities he brings.

"He's aggressive [when] pressing and an aggressive striker, making sure he's always there, setting the intensity. Hopefully he scores many goals for us."

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was pleased with his team's win in their Club World Cup opener, but admitted the match was played in a "strange" environment.

Goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez were enough to get Chelsea off to a winning start against Los Angeles FC in front of a crowd of just 22,137 at the 71,000 capacity Mercedes-Benz Arena.

"It was a good match, a good performance," said Maresca.

"I think the environment was a bit strange - the stadium was almost empty, not full. But, overall, I think after almost three weeks off we started quite well, we created chances, we won the game and and got a clean sheet. We were able to use different players, so overall [I am] happy."

New signing Liam Delap made his debut from the bench in the second half, and provided the assist for Chelsea's second goal.

Despite this being an opportunity for Maresca to look at his squad, much of the focus shifted to the lack of fans inside the ground.

"We are professional and we have to adapt to the situation and to the environment. You have to adapt when you play with a full stadium. You have to adapt when the stadium is not full," Maresca added.

"The behaviour of the players, the attitude, is important. I think once again today they showed how professional they are.

"We finished the Premier League and the Conference [League] very strong defensively without conceding many goals. Hopefully we can continue with this attitude."

Chelsea have opened talks with Lyon over Belgian winger Malik Fofana, 20. Nottingham Forest have also shown interest. (L'Equipe - in French), external

Meanwhile, the Blues have joined Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle in the race for Southampton and England Under-21s winger Tyler Dibling, 19. (CaughtOffside), external

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

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Were you at Chelsea's opening Club World Cup game or following from elsewhere?

What did you make of the Blues' display and what are the talking points?

Come back to this page on Tuesday to find a selection of your replies

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter in Atlanta

New signing Liam Delap could make his debut for Chelsea from the bench against LAFC after joining for £30m from Ipswich Town before the Club World Cup.

Returning loanee Andrey Santos and a trio of teenage signings Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Mike Penders are also on the bench.

Meanwhile, LAFC have left former Blues striker Olivier Giroud on the bench but familiar foe Hugo Lloris starts in goal.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Lavia, Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Jackson

Subs: Filip, Penders, Sarr, Anselmino, Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Acheampong, Essugo, Andrey Santos, Dewsbury-Hall, Fernandez, Delap, George, Nkunku, Guiu.

Los Angeles XI: Lloris, Palencia, Long, Segura, Hollingshead, Delgado, Jesus, Tillman, Ordaz, Ebobisse, Bouanga.

Subs: Hasal, Ochoa, Marlon, Raposo, Chanot, Tafari, Hom, Saldana, Yeboah, Giroud, Martinez, Wibowo.

No sooner does the season finish and we start looking forward to key dates for the next campaign - and that will be a lot easier to do on Wednesday when the Premier League fixtures are released.

That's right, that special day in the calendar is almost here already. The day when you'll learn details of derby fixtures, Christmas opponents and end-of-season run-ins.

This page will bring you all the fixtures when they drop at 09:00 BST on Wednesday and we'll be giving you the chance to have your say on how things look.

The new campaign kicks off on the weekend of Saturday, 16 August and it will conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all 10 games will take place at the same time.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Before Chelsea's first match at the Club World Cup against Los Angeles FC on Monday, we put your questions to our football news reporter out in the US, Nizaar Kinsella.

Nick asked: With the limited time between signing Liam Delap and the start of the Club World Cup for him to pick up Maresca's methods, do you think he's likely to play a significant role for the team in the tournament, or are we likely to see Nicolas Jackson starting and Delap used as an option from the bench?

Nizaar: Liam Delap may have only just joined from Ipswich Town but he knows Enzo Maresca's methods. He won the Premier League 2 title at Manchester City under the Italian while scoring 24 goals, playing alongside Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia. I think the reason Chelsea wanted to get him, midfielder Dario Essugo and defender Mamadou Sarr in for this tournament was to help their adaptation. I expect Delap will share the minutes with Nicolas Jackson as they battle it out for the number nine shirt.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Before Chelsea's first match at the Club World Cup against Los Angeles FC on Monday, we put your questions to our football news reporter out in the US, Nizaar Kinsella.

Here are some of his answers on how the competition could help the Blues.

Rob asked: Will this help Chelsea at all in regard to next season or will players be burnt out even before the season starts?

Nizaar: Chelsea would add 23% more revenue to the profit and loss account if they won the tournament with £97m in TV revenue earned. It would give Chelsea a super 'have' to the rest of the Premier League's 'have nots'. They would have £311m in revenue compared to around £246m for Champions League only clubs. The non-European clubs are down at £130m in TV money terms. Uefa's squad cost controls are stricter in terms of the loss limits and don't allow the sale of hotels or the women's team to be included and it is expected Chelsea will fall foul of those regulations and pay a fine.

Joshua asked: What is your prediction for Chelsea at the Club World Cup and do you think their squad depth could make them contenders after such a long season?

Nizaar: I think they are contenders to win it but not favourites. I know from several sources that Real Madrid are taking this competition very seriously as highlighted by the signings of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen before travelling to the United States. Manchester City have spent very big, Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League and are rightly considered one of the best teams in the world and Bayern Munich are among the other favourites.

Check back in a couple of hours for the next part of the Q&A.

The transfer window is open again for summer business to be conducted.

Clubs can now strike deals until the deadline at 19:00 BST on 1 September.

So if you can sell one player who is it? And if you can buy one player only, who gets the nod?

Give us reasons for your choice but remember, in this instance it's a strict one player leaving and one coming in.

Send your selections