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Evening Standard
· collected 2026-10-02 · by George Flood and Dom Smith
Chelsea is set to play a friendly match against Portsmouth on October 1, following their recent loss to Brentford and before their next Premier League game against Bournemouth. The match will feature players who have not been selected for international duty and those recovering from injuries, such as summer signings Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha. Expected in the lineup are Danny Welbeck and Kendry Paez, with a possibility of younger players stepping up if certain regulars like Cole Palmer or Reece James are unavailable due to injury.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Chelsea, currently ranked 10th in the Premier League following three consecutive matches without a win, will play a secret friendly match against Championship side Portsmouth this weekend. The game is closed to spectators and behind closed doors at Cobham training ground. It aims to boost player fitness during the extended international break and provide recovery opportunities for injured players like Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha. Portsmouth, ranked 19th in the Championship, have won only two of their first seven matches this term under manager John Mousinho. The match will also offer tactical training for Chelsea's new manager Xabi Alonso ahead of their next Premier League game against Bournemouth on October 10.
Written for “Chelsea Secret Friendly Matchup” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
The Blues have organised the game to bridge the long gap between their last Premier League fixture - the woeful 3-0 defeat at Brentford on September 18 - and the next against Bournemouth on October 10 for those players who have not been called up by their respective countries for this extended three-week international break.
asserted
who → organise → break
Chelsea have a strong cohort of players who have been working at Cobham during this period, with the match against Portsmouth offering the chance for the majority of them to keep ticking over, or others the opportunity to step up their respective returns from injury.
asserted
others → have → injury
That is the case for summer signings Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha, both of whom have yet to make their competitive debuts for the club after initially impressing during pre-season.
asserted
both → have → season
It is an important game for Palestra in particular to showcase his readiness to play once the Premier League returns, with the Italian likely to line up at right-back or right wing-back.
asserted
Italian → showcase → back
Emegha could lead an attack also featuring the likes of fellow summer recruit Danny Welbeck, though it depends if the Dutch forward has now recovered fully from a hamstring injury sustained in July during another behind-closed-doors friendly against Bromley.
uncertain
forward → lead → Bromley
There could also be a rare senior outing for Kendry Paez, who is not part of Xabi Alonso’s first-team plans this season after difficult loan spells at BlueCo sister club Strasbourg and River Plate, but has featured for Chelsea’s Under-21s.
uncertain
who → feature → Under-21s
It remains to be seen whether Cole Palmer will be considered having pulled out of the England squad last week and been working abroad on an individual programme with a Chelsea fitness coach, while Reece James’ current status is also unknown after missing out on selection by Thomas Tuchel due to a hamstring injury.
asserted
status → remain → injury
Moises Caicedo was not called up by Ecuador for their latest friendlies after a calf injury that has disrupted his season so far, but he was said to be close to being involved against Brentford.
asserted
he → call → Brentford
Standout Chelsea youngsters Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli will both be involved for the England U17s against Germany on Sunday, so are unavailable here.
asserted
Watson → involve → Sunday
It is conceivable that Alonso could use one or two players from the Cobham Next Gen side to fill squad places against Portsmouth, though they would obviously have to be chosen from the contingent not currently away on internationals.
uncertain
they → use → internationals
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