Chelsea Round-Up, Wednesday 28th October: Chelsea Women Beat Roma as Men Head to Anfield for Carabao Cup Clash
Chelsea Women kicked off the evening's action with victory over AS Roma at Plough Lane in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage, continuing their unbeaten start to the campaign (BBC Sport). The final score was 2-0 to the Blues, with We Ain't Got No History reflecting on how far the side has come after last season's criticism, handily beating the Italian visitors (We Ain't Got No History). Confirmed line-ups were published by ChelseaFC.com and We Ain't Got No History ahead of kick-off, as Chelsea took on the Serie A outfit in their third group game of the season (ChelseaFC.com) (We Ain't Got No History).
Attention this evening also turned to Anfield, where Xabi Alonso's men faced Liverpool in the Carabao Cup fourth round (Sports Mole). The tie carries extra spice given Alonso's own history at former club Liverpool, and BBC Sport reported the Chelsea boss saying he would have no qualms celebrating if his side scored against his old side (BBC Sport). Alonso also insisted "I support my team and fight for my club" when asked about his feelings on facing Liverpool (ChelseaFC.com), while ChelseaFC.com described the fixture as making it "make or break" time in his own words (ChelseaFC.com). Sky Sports previewed the night as a "battle of the Basques" given Alonso's Spanish roots, as part of their wider Carabao Cup fourth round talking points (Sky Sports), and talkSPORT noted that Liverpool and Chelsea were set to share a unique slice of competition history as kick-off got under way (talkSPORT). Elsewhere, Football.London looked at the history between Jordan Henderson and Liverpool, with the midfielder facing his old club and reportedly in for a frosty reception from Reds supporters (Football.London), while a separate piece explained why Liverpool didn't move to re-sign Henderson themselves after his Brentford contract expired, with the player instead joining Chelsea in the summer (Football.London). Football365 also looked back at the mentor who worked with Alonso, Mikel Arteta and Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, reflecting on which of the trio always looked destined for the top job (Football.London).
On team news, Football.London reported that as many as 12 players could potentially miss out for Chelsea against Liverpool as Alonso dealt with a fresh injury blow (Football.London), with further detail on Joao Pedro, Martinez, Chavarria and Emegha's fitness provided after Alonso's Tuesday press conference (Football.London). Alonso also gave an update on Joao Pedro specifically while discussing his admiration for Liverpool's Florian Wirtz from their Bayer Leverkusen days together (Football.London). Confirmed line-ups showed Alonso made changes from the weekend, with Football.London reporting he opted to leave Estevao out of his starting side in what was described as a "brutal" call given the winger's Anfield return (Football.London) (Football.London). ChelseaFC.com confirmed the finalised Chelsea XI to face Liverpool (ChelseaFC.com), while Evening Standard had earlier predicted Danny Welbeck and Estevao would both be involved after Alonso confirmed both were included in his squad (Evening Standard). Welbeck himself spoke to ChelseaFC.com about the clash, calling it "a great opportunity for us" (ChelseaFC.com), with Alonso also praising the forward as a "reference" for his attacking qualities before kick-off (ChelseaFC.com).
On the transfer front, Sports Mole reported that Chelsea have reportedly set three conditions that would need to be met before sanctioning a January exit for Estevao amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain (Sports Mole). The same outlet also reported that the Blues remain "keen admirers" of Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite amid what was described as inconsistency under Alonso (Sports Mole). Football365 reported that Chelsea insider Si Phillips has suggested Trent Alexander-Arnold is a target for the club following a decision over his future at Real Madrid (Football365). Elsewhere, Evening Standard reported comments from Jamie Carragher suggesting summer signing Maxence Lacroix, who swapped London clubs to join Chelsea, does not look "comfortable" playing in Alonso's system (Evening Standard).
Looking ahead, Saturday's Premier League visit of Manchester United to Stamford Bridge was already generating headlines, with the Mirror reporting that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to watch on as pressure mounts on Michael Carrick (Mirror), while Sky Sports reported that Carrick and captain Bruno Fernandes held clear-the-air talks following Fernandes being an unused substitute in United's recent defeat (Sky Sports). Sports Mole also reported a fitness boost for Carrick ahead of the trip, with Kobbie Mainoo returning to training (Sports Mole).
Finally, in the EFL Cup draw after the Anfield tie, Football.London reported that Chelsea, along with Crystal Palace and Fulham, were due to learn their quarter-final opponents (Football.London), and ChelseaFC.com previewed Chelsea's Next Gen side in European action against Flora Tallinn (ChelseaFC.com).
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.