Chelsea Lunchtime Round-Up, Tuesday 27th October 2026: Alonso Preps Blues for Tough Liverpool Test

It's a big week for Xabi Alonso and his Chelsea side, with the Blues travelling to Anfield on Wednesday to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup fourth round (Football.London) (BBC Sport) (Football.London). BBC Sport note that the manager has fresh headaches to deal with after the weekend's home defeat to Tottenham raised the stakes ahead of the trip to Merseyside (BBC Sport).

Football.London were watching on at training, where Alonso was seen speaking individually with two of his midfielders, while six players were missing from the session (Football.London). The head coach also fronted the media in his pre-match press conference, touching on Joao Pedro's injury situation as well as team news for the Liverpool clash (Football.London).

Elsewhere, Jamie Carragher has given his verdict on the current Chelsea squad, suggesting there's a position in defence he considers "very average" and in need of strengthening if Alonso wants to take the backline to the next level (Football.London).

This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.