Opponent Revealed As Xabi Alonso & Chelsea Make Decision To Organise Behind-Closed-Doors Friendly | OneFootball

Chelsea have arranged a behind-closed-doors friendly against Championship side Portsmouth, which will take place this weekend, according to reports.

The extended international break has given manager Xabi Alonso extra time to address and work on several issues, especially the team’s defence, given the team’s poor record at the start of the season, albeit with limited personnel.

Chelsea conceded the most goals (12) in the Premier League in their first five games, which has played a major role in their inconsistent start to the season as they sit 10th in the table.

The break, however, also adds an extra week of inaction for players not on international duty.

Alonso gave these players some time off in the first of the three-week break, before resuming training on Monday at their Cobham base.

Chelsea have clearly felt training alone would not be enough to improve the players’ match fitness ahead of their return to Premier League action against AFC Bournemouth on October 10.

To help with preparation, the Daily Mail report Chelsea have set up a behind-closed-doors friendly against Portsmouth this weekend.

The Blues are expected to keep details of the friendly out of the public eye to avoid giving Bournemouth valuable information ahead of the league clash.

Still, they would hope this could help players like Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha, who have yet to make their official Chelsea debuts, get back up to speed after injury absences.

Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Pep Chavarria, Danny Welbeck, and Jordan Henderson are the other non-international players who were present in Chelsea’s training this week.

It remains unclear whether Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, and Reece James, who remain on the team’s injury list, will feature in the friendly, but Alonso will likely have to rely on academy players to fill the gaps.

These players who have yet to return to training are understood to be following individual plans prepared by the club, tailored to each player’s circumstances and fitness situation.

It is worth noting that 16-year-old midfielders Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli and Reggie Watson, who have been in and around the first-team environment since pre-season, are away on international duty with England Under-17s.

On the other hand, Tayo Subuloye, another academy star who has trained a lot with the first team, is not on international duty. The versatile young defenders should therefore be involved in the friendly.

Jamie Gittens returned to Chelsea early after sustaining an ankle injury during England Under-21s’ win over Kazakhstan. As it stands, the extent of the injury remains unclear, although Lee Carsley suggested that sending the winger back to his club was a precautionary measure.