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Showing posts with the label Premier League

Chelsea confirm starting line-up ahead of tonight's West London Derby clash with Fulham

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Blues interim head coach Callum McFarlane makes six changes to the Chelsea starting XI ahead of tonight's premier league clash with Fulham   New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior was appointed yesterday it is Calum McFarlane who oversees tonight's clash at Craven Cottage. Chelsea will be looking to build upon their hard earned draw away at Manchester City on Sunday.  Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez missed the draw on Sunday due to injury and returns to start in goal for tonight's West London derby at Craven Cottage. He is expected to be protected by a defence which consists of Malo Gusto, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella.  There is a return back to the side for Moises Caicedo after the Ecuadorian served a one game suspension against Manchester City.  Caicedo is set to be partnered in midfield by Andrey Santos after the Brazilian's impressive second half outing on Sunday. There is a start for Cole Palmer once more along with the Blues goalscorer at t...

Enzo Maresca confirms team news for tomorrows game against Bournemouth

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Blues boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed that he does not expect Jorrell Hato to be fit to face Bournemouth tomorrow however, expects Wesley Fofana to be in contention to feature after being an unused substitute in the defeat at home to Aston Villa last weekend.  Chelsea return to action at Stamford Bridge tomorrow evening and look to but the defeat over the weekend against Aston Villa behind them and return to winning ways as they host Bournemouth hoping to end 2025 with a win. The Blues will be without long term absentees Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia for the visit of the Cherries, with Maresca predicting that Hato will be ready to return in time from the injury which he sustained during the half time warm up against Newcastle United.  When asked about Hato at his pre match press conference which took place on Saturday. Enzo Maresca said " For Bournemouth, no I don't think he will be ready." Though the Blues defeat against Aston Villa over the weekend was frus...

Robert Sanchez's thoughts on the defensive progress and breaking Villa's stride

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Blues shot stopper Robert Sanchez has kept the joint most clean sheets in premier league this season, ahead of the visit of Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge he explains why the Blues are doing so well defensively. Robert Sanchez has kept a clean sheet in 9 out of the Blues last 17 games in the 2025/26 season and is one clean sheet away from his Spanish compatriot David Raya's tally of 10 clean sheets recorded last season. Sanchez's good form in goal for the Blues was recognised most recently when he was named in the PFA premier league fans player of the month for November. However, the Spaniard acknowledges that it is a much collective effort when it comes to stopping the opposition from scoring. When asked about this Sanchez went onto state that when he and whichever 4 it was at the back, that whoever plays, it is important that they understand each others strengths and weaknesses and that they play to help each other in order to get the best performance possible.  Sanchez then ...

Chelsea starting line-up versus Everton confirmed

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Blues boss Enzo Maresca makes four changes ahead of the Blues premier league game at home to Everton with a start for Cole Palmer  Chelsea will look to return to winning ways following their midweek defeat in the champions league away to Atalanta, with todays game against the Toffees kicking off at 3pm.  Cole Palmer comes into the side from the start as part of four changes with Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Wesley Fofana set to be handed starts by Enzo Maresca.  The Blues start with Robert Sanchez in goal, with the Spaniard marshalled at the back four of Malo Gusto at right back, Marc Cucurella at left back  with a centre back pairing of Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah.  Skipper Reece James is partnered in midfield by Enzo Fernandez, with a three in front of them consisting of Pedro Neto on the right, Cole Palmer in the 10 and Alejandro Garnacho on the left with Joao Pedro leading the line. 

Chelsea starting line-up confirmed ahead of clash with Arsenal

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 Chelsea confirm the starting line-up ahead of todays top of the table clash against Arsenal  Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca makes one change ahead of a big London derby top of the table clash against Arsenal . Chelsea head into today's game off the back of a thoroughly dominant performance in the champions league on Tuesday dismantling Barcelona 3-0 in the champions league and are looking to clash the gap on league leaders Arsenal at the top of the table down to 3 points.  Robert Sanchez retains his spot in goal behind the same back four which started Tuesday's champions league game against Barcelona with Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana starting against the Gunners.  Reece James partners Moises Caicedo in midfield with Enzo Fernandez pushing up further forward in the advanced central midfield role and is set to be joined on the flanks by Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto with Joao Pedro set to lead the line.  More good news for Blues fans ...

Match report Burnley 0-2 Chelsea

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The Blues fine record at Turf Moor continues as goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez settle a hard fought contest  There had been plenty of opportunities for Chelsea before the Portuguese winger met a superb delivery from Jamie Gittens with a diving header on 36 minutes with his third goal in his last five starts to put the Blues ahead.  Neto came close to a second shortly striking the woodwork on the hour, with Clarets goalkeeper Martin Dubravka saving from Gusto who came on as a sub with the Blues looking to put the game to bed in the first half. The hosts best chance was wasted by Zion Flemming and though they begun to apply some late pressure, Enzo Fernandez struck from close range with a couple of minutes remaining to secure victory for the Blues to put them up to second 3 points of leaders Arsenal securing a third straight victory in the league without conceding.  Team news  Making his 50th premier league game in charge of the Blues Enzo Maresca made four c...

Gusto speaks on finally ending long drought with first Blues goal as Chelsea secure 3 points at home to Wolves

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 My first goal is only the start says Blues right back Malo Gusto  After reaching 98 appearances in a Blue shirt, it's fair to say that Malo Gusto was certainly most pleased to see his long awaited goal drought for his first Chelsea goal come to an end. However the French full back believes that that this is only the beginning as the Frenchman helped the Blues to a 3-0 win at home to Wolves.  Chelsea secured the three points thanks to three goals in the second half as they headed into the November international break with a spring in their step , and it was Gusto who broke the deadlock. Latching onto Alejandro Garnacho's lopping cross and heading the ball passed the oncoming Wolves goalkeeper, Gusto showed the intent of a striker wheeling away to celebrate with the Chelsea fans in the Matthew Harding lower end.  Elsewhere, in the second half for Chelsea Joao Pedro doubled the Blues advantage which his second goal in as many games, with Pedro Neto wrapping up the resu...

Chelsea line up to face Manchester United

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Chelsea make three changes from the midweek game in Romania against Atletico Madrid  There are returns for Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and N'Golo Kante to Thomas Tuchel's side as Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge for this afternoons game. The trio to miss out are Marcos Alonso, Jorginho and Timo Werner who all drop to the bench. This means the Olivier Giroud will lead the line up front following his brilliant performance in Romania on Tuesday, with the attacking support being provided by both Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech. The goalkeeper and the back three remain unchanged with Edouard Mendy protected at the back by Cesar Azpiliqueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. The wing-backs will be Ben Chilwell and Callum-Hudson-Odoi, with Matteo Kovacic partnered by Kante in the centre of midfield. When asked about his decision to select Ziyech over Werner, Tuchel said: 'For me Hakim is a different type of player. He deserves to start. His impact in the gam...

Ahead of Manchester United Tuchel Reports Defender missing but reports no further injuries

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The great news for Thomas Tuchel is that his squad returned from Bucharest in good health, with all those having made the trip to Romania available to face Manchester United today. However, Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match media conference that Thiago Silva will not be in contention to face Manchester United as he continues to recover from a muscle injury which he sustained at Tottenham last month.   Tuchel reported ' He carried out an individual training session today, on the pitch, and felt this was huge progress.' 'This is a big step for him, so I am hoping that he will join us next week.' Tuchel has already faced Manchester United twice this season with PSG in the champions league group stage  'It is very helpful if you understand the style, strength and weakness. We have had a pretty good impression of the style they play and the spaces in which they want to hurt us, alongside their strengths individually as a group. This will help us to prepare.' 'The...

Reaction from Tuchel on what Chelsea need to do in order to score more plus explains why Hudson-Odoi was taken off

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Thomas Tuchel saw a run of five wins in a row come to an end as Chelsea drew 1-1 in today's lunchtime kick-off against Southampton, however the subject of much of Thomas Tuchel's analysis after the game was the sharpness required to score goals to win a game whilst keeping it tight defensively. Thomas Tuchel on the touchline during Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Southampton Tuchel saw his side go behind for the first time in the seven games that he has been in charge as head coach when Southampton scored on the counter attack in the first half. A penalty in the second half from Mason Mount secured a point for Chelsea. Despite Chelsea conceding their first goal scored by an opposition player under Tuchel, the German was very content with the way that his team played at St Mary's apart from Chelsea's work in and around the penalty area. Tuchel regretfully said 'we created opportunities which in the end were not opportunities'.  'We opened up a lot of space for our ...

The Match Report- Southampton 1-1 Chelsea

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Another goal for Mason Mount on the South Coast however, it was not enough to claim all three points as Thomas Tuchel's side had to settle for a share of the points at St Mary's  Mason Mount celebrates equalising from the penalty spot for Chelsea against Southampton Despite controlling the majority of the game, Chelsea fell behind in the first half as Takumi Minamino managed to escape through the Blue's defence to give the hosts Southampton a lead which lasted for 20 minutes.  Mount remained lively throughout the game, taking inspiration from playing for local rivals Portsmouth, and won Chelsea a penalty from which he scored the equalising goal. The man at fault for Chelsea's penalty was Danny Ings who went to ground whereas a more sensible defender would have stayed on his feet, with their being little reason to argue against the decision. Danny Ings brings down Mason Mount to give Chelsea a penalty  With plenty of time in the game remaining, both teams had opportuniti...

Chelsea team to face Southampton

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Chelsea make four changes for today's lunchtime kick off away at Southampton  Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy makes a welcome return to goal and there is also a first start under head coach Thomas Tuchel for Kurt Zouma in defence, whilst there are also returns for N'Golo Kante and Reece James. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Andreas Christensen, Jorginho and Callum Hudson-Odoi all drop to the bench. Chelsea are expected today to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation which has been predominantly adopted during his tenure up to date, Tammy Abraham has recovered from his leg injury which forced him off in Chelsea's win over Newcastle at the beginning of the week to lead the attack. Abraham will be supported in attack by Mason Mount and Timo Werner. Zouma will partner with Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpiliqueta in central defence, with Marcos Alonso and Reece James deployed as wing-backs. Kante replaces Jorginho as Matteo Kovacic's partner in midfield. For more articles on news relating to Chelsea Foo...

Tuchel states that defender is out but provides update on attacking duo and reports on issues for Pulisic

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There appeared to be some mixed news relating to injuries ahead of our trip to Southampton on Saturday lunchtime, with Thiago set to be ruled out of the game at St Mary's and Christian Pulisic unlikely to travel, even though others who were a doubt were expected to be available. In his pre-press match conference Thomas Tuchel reported from Cobham  through a video link, speaking before the final training session before Chelsea headed to Southampton this afternoon.  Whilst this meant that Tuchel could not be a 100 percent certain about the condition of all of his players ahead of Saturday's game, he was able to reveal that Thiago Silva would not be involved at St Mary's. Tuchel stated 'Thiago will be out of the game as he is not already.' Thiago Silva will not feature in Saturday's game against Southampton despite training with the team yesterday Thiago Silva has not featured since coming off early in Chelsea win over Tottenham at the beginning of the month. Meanw...

Match preview + Team news - Southampton vs Chelsea

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The first of back to back away games for Chelsea against opponents playing in red and white stripes takes us to England's south coast and a meeting with Southampton. Chelsea will dock at port Southampton, this Saturday lunchtime. A victory for Chelsea against the Saints would place the Blues only one point behind Leicester City who travel to Aston Villa on Sunday. With the return of the champions league on Tuesday, Thomas Tuchel will be extremely eager to to continue building the promising start to his managerial tenure at Stamford Bridge. So far the German has gained 13 points from his first five games in the premier league, a tally only bettered at Chelsea by Carlo Ancelotti and Maurizio Sarri both of whom managed to achieve 15 points from their first five games. Tomorrow's opponents Southampton have lost their last six games in the premier league this is in start contrast with Chelsea's run of 5 consecutive victories in the league at St Mary's this being the best seq...

Chelsea vs Newcastle - The Debrief

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Chelsea's recent record against Newcastle United continued following Monday night's 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge as we look at those players who made significant contributions in defence, midfield and in attack. Olivier Giroud celebrated scoring Chelsea's opener  Kovacic the controller Chelsea's Croatian midfield maestro Matteo Kovacic delivered another excellent performance and kept up his good run of form. The Croatian help to set the tone for Chelsea's display with an assured performance whilst in possession and showing willingness to carry the ball further up the field and pick spaces in the Newcastle defence.  Kovacic recorded the highest figures in the game for possession (10%). touches (107), pass completion rate (96%), passes (86), most successful passes in the final third (21/24) and dribbles (8). Matteo Kovacic's impressive numbers in Chelsea's victory  In fact the Croat accounted for eight out of Chelsea's successful nine dribbles. Only Maso...

Timo Werner delighted with both his and Chelsea's form

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Timo Werner has found himself recently involved in lots of Chelsea's goals without actually scoring himself, so his name was the most deserved on the scoresheet in Monday's win at home to Newcastle  The German was fouled for both penalties which he won at Tottenham and at Sheffield United, as well as setting up Mason Mount in the game at Bramall Lane and then delivered the cross for Olivier Giroud to gobble up to put Chelsea 1-0 up against Newcastle on Monday.  Shortly after that, a corner fell at the feet of Werner from a few yards out and the German forced the ball over the line for his fifth goal in the premier league this season. This accompanies the five assists and four penalties which he has won. Afterwards Werner said 'I am happy that I was finally able to score a goal.' 'As a striker you always want to score goals. Last month I was not happy about not scoring, bit it's a team sport at the end of the day. When we win it is a very good feeling. When I am ...

Werner ends his goal drought Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle the match report

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Chelsea defeated Newcastle United 2-0 in Monday night's premier league fixture at Stamford Bridge to move into the top four thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner finally getting on the scoresheet Chelsea did the damage to Newcastle United in a brilliant first half performance as the Magpies had no answer to Chelsea's width, allowing the Blues to create several chances. Chelsea took the lead after half and hour through a burst down the left hand side by Timo Werner. Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow could only palm Werner's low cross to Olivier Giroud, who came on to replace the injured Tammy Abraham was on hand to emphatically put the loose ball into the back of the net. Having provided the assist for Giroud's goal Werner himself then scored Chelsea's second before half-time, sweeping in after a corner had ricocheted around the penalty area despite Darlow clawing the ball away even after it had already crossed the line. Newcastle showed vast signs of im...