Xabi Alonso says he expects to welcome back Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo and Reece James when Chelsea host Bournemouth today.

The Cherries’ visit to Stamford Bridge represents the first Chelsea first match in 22 days since the 3-0 defeat at Brentford before the international break.

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Joao Pedro missed that game as well as international duty with Brazil, with revealing that he had seen a specialist in London to try to speed up his recovery from a knee injury.

At his press conference on Friday, Alonso said of Joao Pedro and fellow injury doubts Caicedo, James, Cole Palmer and Marco Palestra: “They are ready to go tomorrow.”

It remains to be seen which of them, and how many, Alonso names in his starting lineup to face Marco Rose’s side.

Jamie Gittens is unavailable and expected to be out a number of weeks after picking up an ankle injury with the England Under-21s that led him to leave the stadium on crutches following a game against Kazakhstan.

In recent games, Alonso has switched between a 3-4-2-1 formation and a 4-2-3-1, not only within games but in his starting lineups.

Alonso has not handed much game time to Geovany Quenda or Estevao in Chelsea’s first five Premier League games.

Chelsea predicted XI vs Bournemouth (3-4-2-1): Martinez; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill; Palestra, James, Caicedo, Hato; Rogers, Palmer; Joao Pedro

Time and date: 3pm BST on Saturday October 10, 2026

Match not televised in the UK due to the 3pm blackout