Fulham vs. Chelsea line-ups: Premier League 2026-27 predicted XIs

The first Monday night game of the season sees west London rivals Fulham and Chelsea face off at Craven Cottage.

Xabi Alonso will be hoping to get his Chelsea reign off to the perfect start as he looks to prove that the job he did at Bayer Leverkusen is a better reflection of his coaching abilities than his short time at Real Madrid showed.

Chelsea have been busy in the transfer market once again this summer with Morgan Rogers' £117 million move from Aston Villa setting a new transfer record for a British player.

Alonso's Chelsea future will likely rest on how he finds a way to fit good friends Cole Palmer and Rogers in the same starting XI.

There's also a former Real Madrid man in the dugout at Fulham this season, with Alonso's replacement at the Bernabéu getting the top job at Craven Cottage after leaving the Spanish giants following the end of the last LaLiga campaign in May.

Álvaro Arbeloa has flicked through his Madrid address book and convinced his former club to agree to let Gonzalo García and César Palacios join him on the banks of the Thames.

- ESPN predicts the 2026-27 Premier League table
- Premier League Top 50: Ranking best players before 2026-27 season


Predicted line-ups

Fulham (4-2-3-1)

Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Jorge Cuenca, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson, Sander Berge, Alex Iwobi, Oscar Bobb, Josh King, César Palacios, Gonzalo García

The first decision for Arbeloa to make is how to navigate the absence of Joachim Andersen in defence -- he's serving the final game of the three-match ban he received for his sending off in gameweek 36 last season. Cuenca is likely to deputise for the Dane. Tom Cairney is injured.

There's likely to be a familiar look to the midfield as Berge and Iwobi link up again, while Bobb, King and Palacios will look to hit Chelsea on the counter at every opportunity.

Up top, García will be hoping to hit the ground running in west London following his move from Madrid.

Chelsea (3-4-2-1)

Robert Sánchez, Reece James, Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Pedro Neto, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Marco Palestra, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, João Pedro

Alonso, meanwhile, has been implementing his back three system during preseason and it'll be interesting to see how it works in the Premier League. New arrival Lacroix is likely to go straight in alongside Chelsea academy products Colwill and James.

As long as Fernández remains at the club come Monday, you'd expect him to partner up with Caicedo once again, but there might be a Chelsea debut for summer signing Palestra at left wing-back.

In front of them will surely be the dual threat of Rogers and Palmer. They'll be looking to feed Pedro who has been banging them in in preseason.