Brentford away, and Chelsea need a response
Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday, 21:00 CEST, and you go there off a 2–2 home draw with Hull City (1). Brentford are unbeaten. They beat Tottenham 3–0 on opening day and drew 2–2 at Bournemouth (7). Seven points from four games puts Chelsea sixth (1).
Xabi Alonso is not calling this a routine trip. "They are very complete in several aspects, with and without the ball. And playing there, you see from the numbers that they are very strong at home. It will be a big challenge" (1).
Keith Andrews is up for it
The Brentford boss expects a proper London derby. "It'll be an entertaining game" (3).
Get the next Chelsea FC brief by email
This article went out to subscribers as a brief. Get the next one straight to your inbox, free.
Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime
Morale on their side is high after that unbeaten start (3). Seven kilometres separate Stamford Bridge from the Gtech Community Stadium (7).
Changes coming in defence, and a new striker
Chelsea have injury doubts going into this one, and the predicted XI has changes in defence again plus a new striker up top (5).
Alonso is giving nothing away on who is fit. "I prefer not to give more information than needed" (5).
Nkunku on why he had to leave
Christopher Nkunku is back at RB Leipzig after three seasons at Chelsea, and he was honest about the last one. "I think at the moment I need to enjoy football again" (6).
A Nico Williams move is on the table
Chelsea are interested in Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, with a price around 596 million kroner (2) (4).
Xabi Alonso is also looking for young talent to strengthen the squad (8).
Liverpool sniffing around a Chelsea target
Liverpool have held talks over a £60m-rated midfielder who came close to joining Chelsea (9).
Fan-reaktioner
The mood on the subreddit is split between what happens on the pitch and who runs the club. One thread digs into the power structure, noting Behdad Eghbali met Xabi Alonso in Madrid before the appointment and has been in most Premier League meetings. On football, the talk is Cole Palmer, and Alonso promising there is "more to come" from him. Join the thread
