Chelsea
Maresca confirms Sterling and Disasi have trained apart since 2025–26 began
Maresca says Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi have trained apart after failing to find moves until.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi have not been part of first-team activity since the 2025–26 season began. Both players have been training separately from the squad after attempts to find transfers on Deadline Day failed to materialise.
Disasi was linked with Sunderland, Bournemouth and West Ham United, but no move came to pass as he hoped former club Monaco would make an offer. Sterling was linked with Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen in August, but he did not want to move away from his family’s London base.
“They are Chelsea players, but at the moment they are training separately and the plan is to continue in this way,” Maresca told reporters of the pair at his latest news conference.
“Since the season started, I haven’t seen either of them. I haven’t seen Axel or Raheem. They train at a different time and on a different pitch. I haven’t seen them since the start of the season.”
Sterling spent 2024–25 on loan at Arsenal but failed to fire. The 30-year-old played 28 times in all competitions, scoring just once in the Carabao Cup, and his 17 Premier League outings came mostly as a substitute behind Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Disasi spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa but did not do enough to convince Unai Emery to pursue a permanent deal. His first season at Chelsea, 2023–24, yielded 31 Premier League appearances, yet when Maresca replaced Mauricio Pochettino it became clear the manager did not see the French defender in his plans.
That stance has continued into the current campaign, with both players described as part of the club’s so-called “bomb squad.” Barring a dramatic change, it appears both will remain on the sidelines and effectively watching until at least January.
Brentford
Brentford v Chelsea: Preview — Injuries, Lineups and What to Expect
Chelsea visit Brentford as Cole Palmer nears a return; Andrews seeks consistency with the Bees. 2025
Chelsea make the short trip to Brentford on Saturday as Enzo Maresca’s side continue a run of London fixtures to open the 2025/26 Premier League season. The visitors arrive with encouraging results while Cole Palmer works his way back from a groin injury. Maresca has said that a decision will be made on Palmer after Friday’s training session, but the playmaker may not start anyway, even if he’s deemed fit. The Chelsea boss has to consider the upcoming Champions League fixture away at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Brentford will hope Chelsea are still without Palmer. Keith Andrews’ side look to recover from the 2–1 defeat at Sunderland on 30/08/25 and build on the narrow 1–0 victory over Aston Villa on 23/08/25. Andrews registered his first Premier League win since succeeding Thomas Frank, despite summer departures that left many projecting a difficult campaign. Brentford also registered earlier results including Bournemouth 0–2 Brentford on 26/08/25, Nottingham Forest 3–1 Brentford on 17/08/25 and a 2–2 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach on 08/08/25.
Chelsea’s recent results include Chelsea 2–0 Fulham (30/08/25), West Ham 1–5 Chelsea (22/08/25), Chelsea 0–0 Crystal Palace (17/08/25), Chelsea 4–1 AC Milan (10/08/25) and wins over Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach in pre-season fixtures listed on 08/08/25.
Team news for Brentford is broadly positive. Vitaly Janelt is available again after a heel injury, Michael Kayode, who had been taken ill while on Italy Under-21 duty, is fit, and Deadline Day arrival Reiss Nelson “will play a part,” Andrews has confirmed. Paris Maghoma and Gustavo Gomes remain sidelined.
Maresca faces selection choices. Liam Delap could be out until December with a hamstring injury and Levi Colwill remains a long-term absentee. Andrey Santos, João Pedro and Estêvão returned late from international duty and injuries may force Santos and Pedro into the starting XI. Dário Essugo has joined the treatment table and Roméo Lavia is unlikely to be available this weekend.
Predicted Brentford XI (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Henry; Henderson, Jensen; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago.
Predicted Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Chalobah, Adarabioyo, Cucurella; Caicedo, Sandro; Neto, Fernández, Gittens; Pedro.
Chelsea possess clear quality on paper but several members of Maresca’s squad travelled long distances during the international break, which may affect preparation. Brentford have lost key components over the summer yet early signs indicate they remain a resilient Premier League side capable of surprises.
Chelsea
2025-26 FPL: Best XI and Captain Choice for Gameweek 4
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 4, captain pick, budget enablers and bench options before Saturday 11am BST
The international break has given Fantasy Premier League managers a pause before Gameweek 4. With several enticing fixtures this weekend, selecting a balanced eleven alongside a reliable captain is the priority.
In goal, Robert Sánchez (£5.0m) is among the top-scoring keepers after three rounds. The Chelsea goalkeeper has two clean sheets and 17 points, and he has earned added save points in two of his three fixtures. Chelsea visit a Brentford side described as goal-shy, making Sánchez a strong pick. Martin Dúbravka (£4.0m) remains a sensible low-cost second keeper with a secure starting spot at Burnley.
We recommend starting three defenders. Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) has collected defensive contribution points across wins over Bournemouth and Newcastle United and posted an eight-point return at home to Arsenal. Liverpool travel to Burnley on Sunday and another clean sheet is plausible. Crystal Palace wing back Daniel Muñoz (£5.5m) offers both defensive and attacking upside; he has 19 points from three games, including an assist and a nine-point haul at Aston Villa, and Palace host Sunderland. Pedro Porro (£5.6m) has featured in Tottenham’s organised defence — Spurs have conceded once in three matches and visit West Ham United, where Porro could target a clean sheet and an attacking return.
Fulham’s Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) and Leeds United’s Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4.0m) are useful bench options.
Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) has a goal and an assist from three matches and is the captain recommendation as Liverpool face a Burnley defence that has conceded six goals so far. Cody Gakpo (£7.7m) has provided a goal and two assists and is a strong partner in attack.
Antoine Semenyo (£7.4m) and Jack Grealish (£6.7m) have been standout performers and both have home matches this weekend. Fulham’s Josh King (£4.5m) is a budget enabler after an offside/VAR intervention denied a goal at Chelsea.
João Pedro (£7.7m) leads the forwards with two goals and two assists (26 points). Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) is Palace’s route into attack after opening his account at Villa Park; an injury to Ismaïla Sarr increases his responsibility. Viktor Gyökeres (£9.0m) could be appealing when Arsenal host Nottingham Forest; Forest have changed manager and the incoming Ange Postecoglou will need time to implement his approach, which may affect Forest defensively in the short term.
The deadline for Gameweek 4 is Saturday, 13 September at 11 a.m. BST (6 a.m. ET, 3 a.m. PT) ahead of Arsenal’s lunchtime fixture with Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea
Maresca to assess Cole Palmer in final session as Chelsea weigh multiple fitness issues
Maresca will assess Cole Palmer ahead of Brentford; updates on Delap, Essugo, Caicedo, squad fitness
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed Cole Palmer will undergo a late fitness check ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brentford after an Instagram post hinted at a return. The post was captioned “soon back”, but Maresca made clear no selection decision has been taken yet.
“Cole took part in the session yesterday for the first time, not the entire session,” Maresca told his Friday news conference. “We have one more session this afternoon and we are going to try with him to see if he’s OK, otherwise he will be out tomorrow.” He added context on Palmer’s recovery: “He is recovering from an injury, it’s not managing him, it’s recovering from an injury. When he is available, we need to manage him because of the amount of games.”
Maresca also provided an update on the striker situation and the club’s longer-term absences. He put a return estimate of between 10 and 12 weeks on Liam Delap after a hamstring problem that did not require surgery. The manager set out the immediate attacking options: “The only No. 9 is [Marc] Guiu and João [Pedro] can also play there. Against Fulham, we used Tyrique [George] as a No. 9, so we can also think about him.”
Defensive and midfield availability remains mixed. Levi Colwill is still sidelined with a long-term ACL injury. There are concerns over summer signing Dário Essugo, who could miss a large part of the season after undergoing surgery on his own issue. On a more positive note, Benoît Badiashile and Roméo Lavia returned to training in midweek.
The only additional doubts are linked to Chelsea’s South American players. Moisés Caicedo returned late from Ecuador duty and will face a fitness check. Maresca confirmed there are “question marks” about Brazilian trio João Pedro, Andrey Santos and Estêvão after a gruelling defeat to Bolivia in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The manager will assess the squad across the remaining sessions before finalising his selections for Brentford.
