Chelsea and Nottingham Forest both had double bills over the weekend, giving us four pre-season matches to dissect from an FPL perspective.

Below, we run through the key performances, tactical clues, player roles and other talking points from all four friendlies.

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CHELSEA 3-0 MILAN

• Goals: Joao Pedro x2, Caicedo
• Assists: Caicedo, Neto, Lavia

Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Acheampong, Fofana (Sarr 90+2), Hato (Anselmino 79), Palestra; Lavia, Caicedo (c) (Watson 85); Palmer (Estevao 85), Joao Pedro (Mudryk 85), Neto (Quenda 59); Welbeck (Jackson 59)

SCOUT NOTES

• Chelsea produced one of their strongest displays of pre-season to beat AC Milan 3-0 in Jakarta. Joao Pedro (£7.5m) struck twice before Moises Caicedo (£5.5m) added the third.
• Perhaps the biggest FPL talking point came from Xabi Alonso’s formation. Chelsea lined up with a back three, the system many expected to see when the Spaniard arrived – but one we hadn’t seen in the friendlies to date. Jorrel Hato (£4.5m) featured as the left-sided centre-back rather than at left-back, where we have often seen him during pre-season. Pedro Neto (£6.5m) operated at right wing-back, with Marco Palestra (£5.5m) on the opposite flank. Alonso stressed afterwards that we shouldn’t necessarily expect one fixed formation this season. Instead, he wants Chelsea to change shape and positions depending on the situation:

“We want to be versatile in our approach and system. I think we have the players to adapt to different ones because they understand how to support each other.

“The principles are the same but the movements can change; we need to be unpredictable, we want to be flexible, and we want to have a threat. The system is just a picture; you need to move, rotate and create dynamics [in the team] and that is when the picture becomes a movie.

“We are not just sticking to one idea and the more options that we have, the better team we will be.” – Xabi Alonso

• That flexibility makes the wing-back positions particularly interesting from an FPL perspective. Palestra offered plenty going forward from the left and created an excellent first-half opportunity for Danny Welbeck (£6.0m), whose effort struck the post. He later found himself in another dangerous position following a cross from Geovany Quenda (£5.5m), although his shot went wide. Alonso was full of praise for Palestra afterwards. The Italian has now featured on both flanks during pre-season, something his head coach clearly sees as a strength:

“He is having a great impact. He has a hunger and desire to improve and give his best, and in every game he is getting better and better.

“He played in a different position today, but I knew from his time in Italy he is very flexible and versatile in his game. We are happy he is having such a good adaptation [to life at Chelsea]”. – Xabi Alonso on Marco Palestra

• The headline performer, though, was Joao Pedro. The Brazilian started centrally alongside Cole Palmer (£9.5m) and Welbeck, taking his pre-season tally to five goals with his brace. An early long ball from Robert Sanchez (£5.0m) sent him through on goal, only for the Milan goalkeeper to smother his effort. Pedro then created another opportunity with a solo run before Neto forced a save.
• Pedro’s first goal arrived just before half-time. Caicedo delivered from a corner and Pedro glanced his header beyond the goalkeeper. He needed less than a minute of the second half to strike again, meeting Neto’s cross at the back post and steering home Chelsea’s second.
• Two goals and five across pre-season for Pedro will certainly catch the eye of FPL managers. His positioning also remains encouraging, particularly as Alonso continues to experiment with different attacking structures.
• Set-pieces provided all three of Chelsea’s goals. After Caicedo assisted Pedro from a corner, Romeo Lavia (£5.0m) supplied another delivery for the Ecuadorian himself. The ball dropped perfectly for Caicedo on the edge of the area, where he produced an excellent left-footed volley to make it 3-0.
• Lavia completing the full 90 minutes was another positive development. Injuries have regularly interrupted the midfielder’s Chelsea career, so another substantial outing represents an encouraging step as the new campaign approaches.
• Palmer started again but couldn’t add an attacking return. He did force a save during the second half after Nicolas Jackson (£6.5m) found him following a driving run. With Joao Pedro increasingly prominent in Chelsea’s attack, the relationship between the pair will remain worth monitoring.
• Alonso introduced Quenda and Jackson around the hour mark, with both making an impact. Quenda looked lively on the right and later struck the post, while Jackson also hit the woodwork after driving into the Milan penalty area. Estevao (£6.5m) and Mykhailo Mudryk received shorter outings late on.
• Alonso remains pleased with Chelsea’s progress but also made it clear that he views the side as a work in progress:

“In pre-season, we have a few games already and for sure, the more players we have available, the more options we have.

I think that we will get better and by the start of the Premier League season we will be ready. But even that will be another starting point in the evolution of the team. So it will be a process that takes months and in every game.” – Xabi Alonso

JDT 3-3 CHELSEA

• Goals: Delap x2, own goal
• Assists: Gittens, Delap

Chelsea XI: Sharman-Lowe; Subuloye, Tosin, Anselmino (Watson 29); Quenda, Nicoll-Jazuli, Essugo (c), Gittens (Mudryk 87); Estevao, Delap, Jackson (Satpayev 87)

SCOUT NOTES

• Chelsea rounded off the Far East leg of their pre-season tour with a chaotic 3-3 draw against Johor Darul Ta’zim. Xabi Alonso named an entirely different XI from the one that beat AC Milan 24 hours earlier, with a younger and more experimental side getting the opportunity.
• The most important tactical takeaway was the shape. Chelsea again used a back three, following the same broad structure seen against Milan. Geovany Quenda operated at right wing-back, while Jamie Gittens (£6.0m) played on the left. With Alonso using the system in consecutive matches, there are growing signs that wing-backs will feature prominently in his plans this season.
• The personnel was very different, though. This was largely a team of younger players and others still trying to strengthen their case for a bigger role. Dario Essugo (£4.5m) captained the side from central midfield, with Estevao, Liam Delap (£5.5m) and Nicolas Jackson forming the front three.
• Delap made the biggest attacking impression. The striker won Chelsea’s first penalty after battling with Kevin Medina and converted it himself. He then stepped up again after Gittens won another spot-kick in the second half, finding the same corner to put Chelsea 2-1 ahead.
• The striker also had other opportunities. Jackson produced an excellent outside-of-the-boot pass late in the first half to send Delap through, but his finish bobbled wide. He remained heavily involved after the break and played a part in the late equaliser, with Mykhailo Mudryk delivering towards him before Cristian Glauder turned the ball into his own net. Delap’s display was particularly interesting given the uncertainty surrounding his future. Whatever happens next, he certainly took his opportunity here, finishing with two goals and an assist involvement in the equaliser.
• Jackson was lively throughout. He drifted into central areas, helped Chelsea progress the ball on the break and created several chances. His link-up play with Delap was one of the more encouraging features of an otherwise fairly makeshift Chelsea side.
• Gittens also had an eventful afternoon from wing-back. He won the second penalty and regularly pushed high up the left flank. However, Chelsea also looked vulnerable down that side at times, which is worth monitoring if Alonso continues to use him in such an advanced role.
• Quenda offered similar attacking intent from the opposite flank. He regularly joined attacks and remained involved late into the match, although Chelsea struggled to control the game defensively for long spells.

UDINESE 1-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Nottingham Forest XI: Victor, Netz, Morato, Abbott, Moreira, Yates, Schlager, Bakwa, Dominguez, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo

SCOUT NOTES

• Nottingham Forest began their unusual double-header in Italy with a 1-0 defeat to Udinese. Oliver Glasner largely used a mixture of fringe and younger players for the first 45-minute contest, with another Forest XI taking on Barcelona immediately afterwards.
• There was one late change to the announced line-up. Chris Wood (£6.0m) had initially been named to lead the attack but dropped out before kick-off. Dilane Bakwa (£5.5m) came into the XI instead, joining Callum Hudson-Odoi (£6.0m) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (£5.5m) in the forward line.
• Hudson-Odoi’s involvement was particularly notable. The winger returned from injury to make his first appearance of pre-season and also took at least one corner. One of his deliveries eventually dropped for Kalimuendo, who couldn’t keep his volley down from a promising position.
• There was experience in midfield, too. Ryan Yates (£4.5m) wore the captain’s armband and started alongside Nico Domínguez (£5.0m) and new signing Xaver Schlager (£5.0m). The latter continues to pick up minutes as he settles into Glasner’s squad. At the back, Morato (£5.0m) featured at centre-half alongside youngster Zach Abbott (£4.0m), with Eric Moreira and Luca Netz (£4.5m) completing the defence.
• Forest didn’t create too much going forward, although Moreira did threaten after moving into the inside-left channel. His curling effort forced a save from Udinese goalkeeper Daniele Padelli. John Victor (£4.5m) had more to do at the other end. An early long-range effort provided a comfortable save, before his loose pass presented Udinese with a much better opportunity. The goalkeeper recovered well to keep out Jakub Piotrowski’s resulting strike. Victor later produced another good stop from Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, but he couldn’t prevent Udinese from scoring shortly before the half-hour mark. Oumar Solet attacked Nicolò Zaniolo’s deep corner and powered his header home.
• With Forest using a largely second-string side and the contest lasting only 45 minutes, there wasn’t a huge amount here to influence our early FPL thinking.

BARCELONA 1-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Jair, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Williams, McAtee, Gibbs-White, Sangare, Ndoye, Jesus.

SCOUT NOTES

• Forest were beaten 1-0 by Barcelona in the second part of their triangular tournament, with Raphinha’s late penalty deciding the contest. This was the more FPL-relevant of the two line-ups, with several expected starters featuring together.
• Oliver Glasner again went with a back three. Jair Cunha (£4.5m), Nikola Milenković (£5.5m) and Murillo (£5.5m) formed the central defensive trio, while Ola Aina (£4.5m) and Neco Williams (£4.5m) operated as wing-backs. That continues the pattern we’ve seen throughout pre-season and remains an important one for FPL managers.
• Williams once again offered an attacking threat from the left. He came close to opening the scoring after a Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) cross eventually dropped his way, only for his first-time volley to bend narrowly wide of the far post.
• Gibbs-White’s role was also encouraging. He was heavily involved in Forest’s attacking play. The midfielder created chances for both James McAtee (£5.5m) and Igor Jesus (£6.0m), before hitting the post himself after Jesus slipped him into the area.
• Jesus continued to look lively without extending his impressive scoring run. The Brazilian linked play well, helped Forest attack quickly in transition and later sent McAtee through before seeing another opportunity go begging himself.
• Dan Ndoye (£5.5m) also started, another useful sign as Forest continue to settle on their attacking structure. He forced a save from Wojciech Szczęsny after Gibbs-White found him in space.
• Ibrahim Sangaré (£5.0m) featured in midfield, adding more first-team experience to what looked much closer to Forest’s strongest available XI.
• At the other end, Matz Sels (£5.0m) produced two sharp saves in quick succession after Barcelona struck the post. He first denied Hamza Abdelkarim from the rebound and then reacted well again to keep Forest level.
• The only goal arrived in the closing stages. Barcelona won a penalty after Fermín López’s touch struck Milenković’s arm, allowing Raphinha to send Sels the wrong way.
• From an FPL perspective, the main takeaway is the continued use of a back three with Aina and Williams pushed into wing-back roles. That setup has now appeared consistently across pre-season and continues to strengthen the case for both as attacking defensive options. Gibbs-White also gave managers another reminder of his creative and goal threat, while Jesus remained heavily involved in Forest’s attacking play. Even without a return here, both continue to look central to Glasner’s plans.
• Overall, this was a much more encouraging display than the scoreline suggests. Forest created several good chances against strong opposition, while the expected defensive structure again took shape.

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