Alonso explains Caicedo and Balestra absences for Chelsea’s Fulham opener

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed that midfielders Moses Caicedo and Marco Balestra will miss Monday’s Premier League meeting with Fulham after suffering setbacks during the week.

Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage for their opening-round fixture, with the match scheduled to kick off at 22:00 local time. Both Caicedo and Balestra were left out of the squad after Chelsea decided not to take unnecessary risks with their fitness.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Alonso said: “During the week they suffered some setbacks. We do not want to take too many risks. They were not ready to play tonight. We need to deal with it week by week, but for tonight’s match they were not ready.”

The absence of Caicedo means Chelsea will begin the campaign without one of their key midfield options. Balestra is also unavailable for the first match, with Alonso stressing that the situation would be assessed on a weekly basis rather than committing to a specific return date.

Joao Pedro leads Chelsea’s attack against Fulham, while Enzo Fernandez starts the game among the substitutes. New signing Danny Welbeck is also named on the bench.

Chelsea’s starting line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Robert Sanchez

Defenders: Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong, Malo Gusto

Midfielders: Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Jurrien Timber

Forwards: Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer

The match at Craven Cottage brings Chelsea’s first Premier League fixture of the season, with Alonso selecting a side that includes Joao Pedro in the central attacking role and Cole Palmer among the forward players.

Fulham will host Chelsea in the final fixture of the opening Premier League round. The game’s 22:00 start gives Alonso’s team the opportunity to begin the campaign away from home, although they will do so without Caicedo and Balestra after the pair failed to recover sufficiently from their setbacks.

Alonso reiterated that neither player was considered ready to feature on Monday evening, making their absence a precautionary decision rather than one based on a desire to rush them back into action. With the manager adopting a week-by-week approach, further updates on their availability will depend on how they respond after the Fulham match.