Xabi Alonso’s tenure at Chelsea begins with a short trip to west London rivals Fulham on the opening day of the 2026/27 Premier League season. An early visit to reigning champions Arsenal arrives as soon as gameweek three. Chelsea remain in London until mid-October, when they travel to Merseyside to face Everton. A busy October then features home games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Alonso’s first meeting with former employers Liverpool comes at Stamford Bridge in early December, immediately followed by a trip to face Manchester City, expected to be led by former Blues boss Enzo Maresca. Those fixtures are reversed across the final week of April and the first week of May, when Chelsea will travel to Anfield and host Manchester City.

Chelsea travel to Old Trafford to face Man Utd in February and host Arsenal in mid-March. May brings a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The season runs toward its conclusion with visits to Everton and Bournemouth followed by a final-day meeting at home with Brentford.

Live TV broadcasts will be chosen for select Premier League games throughout the season, dates and/or kick-off times remain subject to change. All kick-off times stated are Eastern Time (ET) and British Summer Time (BST) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), depending on the time of year.

Full fixture list (date — fixture, kick-off time as stated):
24 August — Fulham vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST
29 August — Chelsea vs. Brighton and Hove Albion, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
5 September — Arsenal vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
12 September — Chelsea vs. Hull City, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
19 September — Brentford vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
10 October — Chelsea vs. Bournemouth, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
17 October — Everton vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
24 October — Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
31 October — Chelsea vs. Manchester United, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
7 November — Sunderland vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
21 November — Chelsea vs. Leeds United, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
28 November — Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
2 December — Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. GMT
5 December — Chelsea vs. Liverpool, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
12 December — Manchester City vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
19 December — Chelsea vs. Aston Villa, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
26 December — Coventry City vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
30 December — Ipswich Town vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. GMT
2 January — Chelsea vs. Newcastle United, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
6 January — Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. GMT
16 January — Chelsea vs. Sunderland, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
23 January — Leeds United vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
30 January — Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
6 February — Manchester United vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
10 February — Newcastle United vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. GMT
20 February — Chelsea vs. Ipswich Town, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
27 February — Aston Villa vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
3 March — Chelsea vs. Coventry City, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. GMT
13 March — Chelsea vs. Arsenal, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
20 March — Hull City vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. GMT
10 April — Chelsea vs. Fulham, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
17 April — Brighton and Hove Albion vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
24 April — Chelsea vs. Manchester City, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
1 May — Liverpool vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
8 May — Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
15 May — Chelsea vs. Everton, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
23 May — Bournemouth vs. Chelsea, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST
Final day — Chelsea vs. Brentford (home).

Chelsea’s recruitment direction looks set to shift with Mauricio Alonso thought to have increased sway after a sporting-director structure that presided over a 10th-place Premier League finish last season. An incoming coach will likely prioritize left-back options that fit his preferred patterns, blending ball progression with defensive reliability.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is exactly the type of versatile, silky, ball-centric player that would suit Alonso. Chelsea also have a history of poaching Arsenal’s homegrown left-back talents. However, any deal would be costly given the teenager’s lengthy contract and Arsenal’s apparent reluctance to part ways.

“La minestra riscaldata non è mai buona, reheated soup never tastes as good.” Still, a return could appeal if presented as a clearer pathway than the one Lewis Hall currently faces at Newcastle United. Hall left west London for the north east in 2023 and has blossomed into a well-rounded defender who offers creativity and solidity. Newcastle, as a collective, have not mirrored Hall’s rise and managed to finish even lower than Chelsea last term. It remains to be seen if Alonso would want to tempt Hall back south, but he wouldn’t be the first gem Chelsea bought back after initially letting go.

Antonee Robinson presents a different profile. During the 2024–25 season, he became the first Fulham player to ever register 10 Premier League assists in a single campaign. The tireless force of nature was just as productive defensively, earning links to some of the division’s elite. Robinson hasn’t created a top-flight goal for any teammate since February 2025. Knee surgery last summer derailed his start to the 2025–26 campaign, which largely served as a setting for the U.S. international to work his way back to full health ahead of a home World Cup. Now fit and firing once again, Robinson’s stock is back on the rise and Manchester United are reportedly sniffing around. At 28, he is older than the talents Chelsea have typically targeted under BlueCo, but some experience could be valuable for a squad that has struggled with excessive youth.

Less than two years ago, Arsène Kouassi was playing in France’s third tier. The 22-year-old took Ligue 1 by storm last season, operating chiefly as a wingback in Lorient’s 3-4-2-1. Kouassi racked up six assists, a tally bettered by only one other defender in the French top flight. If Alonso experiments with a back-three, Kouassi could be an ideal outlet down the left.

Real Madrid and Chelsea have reportedly reached a verbal agreement to make Marc Cucurella the most expensive left back in the club’s history. A verbal agreement between all involved parties was first claimed by Fabrizio Romano on Sunday. José Mourinho, Madrid’s freshly reappointed manager, was thought to have singled Cucurella out as his ideal left back target in a position which caused plenty of problems for the Spanish giants last term.

Madrid are expected to pay $69.4 million (£51.8 million, €60 million) for the 27-year-old, with a fixed fee of €55 million supported by a further €5 million in potential bonuses, per The Athletic. The move follows Cucurella’s earlier big-money switch from Brighton to Chelsea and, if completed at the reported numbers, will place the Spain international among the highest fees paid for players at his position.

Transfer figures cited in the available data place Cucurella among the top left-back moves globally, behind only a small number of other high-value deals. The published ranking lists include moves such as Lucas Hernández to Bayern and Benjamin Mendy to Manchester City, with Cucurella appearing twice because his Chelsea transfer is listed and his reported move to Real Madrid is included separately. All figures are attributed to Transfermarkt and converted from euros to dollars.

Less than one year earlier Real Madrid made Álvaro Carreras the club’s most expensive left back with a €50 million deal, a record set to be surpassed by Cucurella. That Carreras transfer was described in the draft as “something of an embarrassment for Madrid,” noting the club had Carreras in its academy for three years without giving him a senior appearance before letting him join Manchester United for free.

Carreras’ return to Madrid began brightly, with a time when Spanish media billed every starting XI as Carreras plus 10 others, but he soon lost his starting spot to a half-fit Ferland Mendy and failed to re-establish himself. A chastening night against Bayern Munich and a physical confrontation with teammate Antonio Rüdiger on the training ground were cited as low points.