Friends, teammates and former head coaches of Real Madrid. Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa will be on the sidelines on Monday for the London derby, managing their respective teams in their Premier League opening match.
Chelsea will seek a fresh start under new manager Alonso after a disappointing 10th place finish last season. Meanwhile, Fulham parted way with Marco Silva after finishing just behind Chelsea in 11th and appointed Arbeloa in the summer.
In fact, both teams finished with 52 points to the names however Chelsea ended up above Fulham due to better goal difference.
Both Alonso and Arbeloa will seek improvements in this season, however it remains to be seen how quickly they adapt to the new settings and make their teams play to their style and get positive results.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK, NBC/Peacock in the U.S., JioHotstar in India, and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates here.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
UK BST: Monday, Aug. 24, 8 p.m.
U.S. ET: Monday, Aug. 24, 3 p.m.
India IST: Tuesday, Aug. 25, 12.30 a.m.
Australia AEST: Tuesday, Aug. 25, 5 a.m.
Venue: Craven Cottage
Referee: John Brooks
VAR: Darren England
Injury and Team News
Fulham
Joachim Andersen: Suspended, OUT
Tom Cairney: Knee, OUT
Chelsea
Caleb Wiley: Groin injury, DOUBT
Aaron Anselmino: Knock, DOUBT
Mamadou Sarr: Knock, DOUBT
Wesley Fofana: Suspended, OUT
Jordan Henderson: Wrist injury, OUT
Emmanuel Emegha: Hamstring injury, DOUBT
Expected Lineups
Fulham Predicted XI
Bernd Leno
Timothy Castagne | Jorge Cuenca | Calvin Bassey | Antonee Robinson
Sander Berge | Alex Iwobi |
Oscar Bobb | Josh King | César Palacios |
Gonzalo García
Chelsea Predicted XI
Robert Sánchez
Reece James | Maxence Lacroix | Levi Colwill |
Pedro Neto | Moisés Caicedo | Enzo Fernández | Marco Palestra |
Cole Palmer | Morgan Rogers |
João Pedro
Talking Points
Alonso will need his key players to fire
Despite quality in their ranks, Chelsea suffered last season because their key players, especially Cole Palmer, underperformed or lacked consistency. Palmer's form dropped and he couldn't make it to England's World Cup squad. More was expected from the likes of Marc Cucurella, Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho while Enzo Fernández, Pedro Neto and Estêvão struggled to show consistency.
Cucurella has gone to Real Madrid, Garnacho is at Aston Villa on loan and Delap might leave before the transfer window shuts down. There could be more departures considering Chelsea have a bloated squad, but Alonso knows the important players and will need them to contribute consistently.
Palmer will be the main focus considering his incredible talent and previous exploits while Morgan Rogers, who made a high profile the switch from Aston Villa this summer, will be expected to deliver regularly. João Pedro was a key figure last season when it came to scoring goals. He signed a new contract with the club and will hope to make another 20-plus goal season.
There are transfer speculations with Neto and Fernandes. If they do stay the season, Chelsea will want more from their senior players.
Alonso is a good manager, despite getting sacked by Real Madrid last season. His main task will be to bring Chelsea back in top four or five and for that, he will want his main players to be available and perform consistently.
Is Arbeloa the right choice for Fulham?
While there is excitement at the start of a new season, there's some anxiousness as well considering the unknown factor with Arbeloa. The new boss lacks experience at the big stage, even though he managed Real Madrid for a few months last season, where his team was not that impressive. Before Real Madrid, Arbeloa was involved with the club's academy. His predecessor made Fulham play a good brand of football while managing to achieve mid table finishes. There was consistency under him even though Fulham didn't really push to be in European places.
They have also lost key players in Harry Wilson and Raúl Jiménez. Wilson's creativity and set-piece abilities were crucial in the previous season while Jimenez was the main goal-scorer. How Arbeloa replaces these players will be important for Fulham. They have signed Gonzalo García from Real Madrid in the summer. García has played under Arbeloa and he will expect the forward to shoulder the responsibility of scoring goals.
If Arbeloa can manage to keep the team out of the relegation zone for most of the gameweeks, that's a good sign. If it's a constant struggle to stay out of the last three places, the club management may not be patient enough for him.