Xabi Alonso Prepares for First London Test Against Tottenham
Xabi Alonso is unlikely to treat this as just another pre-season stroll.
Chelsea’s new head coach faces Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham on Saturday morning in a friendly that already carries a hint of edge: a first London test, a second audition in front of wary Chelsea fans, and a chance to move beyond the gentle experiments of his opening game.
Stronger hand from the start
In his first outing, Alonso kept many of his headline names in reserve, only unleashing them in bulk with 25 minutes to play. Robert Sanchez, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Cole Palmer, Marco Palestra, Estevao, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro all arrived together in a sweeping change that shifted the tempo.
That kind of mass rotation belongs to early pre-season. Now the stakes feel a little higher.
Alonso is expected to lean into a stronger starting XI. Sanchez is in line to replace Teddy Sharman-Lowe in goal, a move that would give the Spaniard valuable minutes as he re-establishes himself as Chelsea’s No1. In front of him, Colwill is pushing to start at centre-back as he builds match fitness after a disrupted spell last season.
Palestra, one of the summer’s more intriguing arrivals, is targeting his first start in royal blue. His route into the team is not straightforward, though. Landon Emenalo has impressed Alonso over the summer and the coach’s growing trust in the left-back could keep the new signing waiting a little longer.
New favourites and fresh auditions
Pre-season always throws up a surprise name, and Reggie Watson has already stepped into that role. His display against Western Sydney struck a chord with the travelling support, all direct running and fearless touches. He has earned another look and should get it.
Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli also changed the tone off the bench in that game and is pushing hard for a start. Alonso has not hidden his willingness to reward sharp cameos, and this Tottenham test offers another platform for the young midfielder to force his way into the early-season conversation.
Romeo Lavia, by contrast, remains a more delicate case. Alonso has confirmed the midfielder is fit again after missing the Western Sydney match with hamstring discomfort, but the club’s caution is understandable. Lavia’s long-running fitness issues mean Chelsea are unlikely to gamble on him in a July friendly, no matter how tempting it might be to accelerate his integration.
Attacking reshuffle
Up front, the structure is beginning to take shape.
Dastan Satpayev is pushing to keep his place on the left flank after a lively showing, and that continuity on one side allows Alonso to change the picture on the other. Cole Palmer is expected to come in from the right, drifting inside to knit attacks together and give Chelsea a more polished edge in the final third.
Reggie Walsh is set to stay in the No10 role, a sign that Alonso likes what he has seen between the lines. Behind him, Liam Delap looks likely to make way, with Joao Pedro in line to lead the line. The Brazilian’s movement and link play could offer a clearer glimpse of how Alonso wants his front three to function once the competitive games arrive.
New signings wait their turn
Not everyone will be on show.
Maxence Lacroix, whose move from Crystal Palace was confirmed on Thursday, will not be available, leaving his debut for another day. The same goes for Morgan Rogers, who remains on post-World Cup holidays and will join up later in the tour.
There are more fitness questions at the back. Jorrel Hato and Mamadou Sarr both missed the Western Sydney match and their involvement here is uncertain. Any delay in their returns hands extra minutes to those already in rhythm and complicates Alonso’s early defensive planning.
Filip Jorgensen, meanwhile, has left the tour altogether to complete a transfer, trimming the goalkeeping options and underlining the sense of a squad still in motion.
So this is where Alonso finds himself: still juggling absences, still learning names, but now walking into a London derby, even in friendly form. The experiments will continue, the rotations will come, yet the tone is changing.
Tottenham under De Zerbi will offer a sharper examination. How bold Alonso goes with his selections will say plenty about how quickly he intends to drag Chelsea into his image.
