Chelsea and Crystal Palace wrapped up their pre-season preparations on Saturday, with both sides providing further clues for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers ahead of Gameweek 1.

Here are the key FPL talking points from their final summer friendlies.

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FPL 2026/27 Pre-season Minutes, Goals + Assists Tracker

CHELSEA 3-1 REAL SOCIEDAD

• Goals: Joao Pedro x2, Rogers
• Assists: Joao Pedro, James, Gusto

Line-up: Sanchez (Penders 61); Fofana, Lacroix (Acheampong 62), Colwill (Hato 76); Neto (Estevao 76), James (Fernandez 62), Caicedo (Lavia 76), Palestra (Chavarria 76); Palmer (Gittens 76), Rogers (Gusto 62); Joao Pedro.

SCOUT NOTES

• For the third successive match, Chelsea started with three centre-backs. Alonso again used a 3-4-2-1 shape, with Wesley Fofana (£5.0m), Maxence Lacroix (£6.0m) and Levi Colwill (£5.0m) forming the defensive line. Pedro Neto (£6.5m) and Marco Palestra (£5.5m) operated as wing-backs, while Reece James (£5.5m) partnered Moises Caicedo (£5.5m) in central midfield. Chelsea also kept the same general structure despite several second-half substitutions against Sociedad. With Fulham now just over a week away, this increasingly looks like the system Alonso will use in Gameweek 1.
• Alonso has previously stressed that Chelsea will remain tactically flexible. However, there were further signs here of how his 3-4-2-1 could function. Caicedo regularly dropped into the defensive line during build-up, while Fofana moved wider on the right. Neto and Palestra dropped deeper without the ball before pushing much higher when Chelsea had sustained possession.
• Neto was particularly impressive from right wing-back. He supplied the cross that eventually led to Morgan Rogers’ (£7.5m) opener, beating his man before clipping the ball towards João Pedro (£7.5m) at the back post. Alex Remiro saved the Brazilian’s header but could only push it into Rogers’ path for a simple finish. Neto also won a dangerous free-kick after leaving his marker behind and continued to offer Chelsea plenty of width.
• Palestra was quieter on the opposite flank but still occupied very advanced positions. That attacking role remains one of the more interesting aspects of Alonso’s system from an FPL perspective. The Italian also impressed going forward against AC Milan.
• The biggest Fantasy draw remains Pedro. The Brazilian forward led the line, with Cole Palmer (£9.5m) and Rogers operating behind him. However, Pedro regularly dropped deeper to link play, allowing the two attacking midfielders to run beyond him.
• Pedro was heavily involved even before scoring. His header created Rogers’ opener and he forced Remiro into another save shortly afterwards. The forward also went close following some neat second-half interplay involving Palmer.
• His first goal arrived only two minutes after the restart. Palmer created space before finding James, whose excellent cross from the right found Pedro. The Brazilian rose highest and guided his header beyond Remiro.
• Pedro then added his second late on. Malo Gusto (£5.0m) played him through and the striker calmly finished across the goalkeeper.
• The brace moved Pedro onto seven goals in five pre-season appearances. He has also now scored eight times across his last seven matches for Chelsea and Brazil. With Liam Delap (£5.5m), Nicolas Jackson (£6.5m) and Danny Welbeck (£6.0m) missing from the squad, Pedro completed the full 90 minutes as Chelsea’s only recognised striker. There’s little doubt that he will begin the season as Alonso’s first-choice number nine, and the combination of minutes, central positioning and current form makes him increasingly difficult to ignore at £7.5m.
• Palmer completed 76 minutes and his underlying involvement was more encouraging than in some previous friendlies. However, he still didn’t look completely sharp. Chelsea’s talisman became increasingly influential after half-time, helped create Pedro’s first goal and almost combined with him for another.
• There were several glimpses of the fluid relationship Alonso appears to want between Palmer, Rogers and Pedro. The striker repeatedly dropped away from the defensive line, giving the two attacking midfielders space to run beyond him. Rogers almost returned the favour for Pedro after scoring the opener, controlling James’ pass before trying to square for the Brazilian.
• Rogers himself completed 62 minutes on his Chelsea debut. His goal was a simple finish but he looked comfortable operating as one of the two number 10s behind Pedro. That position could become particularly significant for the British record signing if Alonso continues with the same shape.
• James again played centrally rather than at wing-back and produced one of Chelsea’s best creative moments. His excellent cross supplied Pedro’s first goal. The captain also found Rogers with a superb pass during the first half and grew increasingly influential after the interval.
• Chelsea still showed some defensive vulnerabilities. Sociedad created several good first-half opportunities and Robert Sanchez (£5.0m) produced a superb reaction stop from Jon Martin. He then made another strong save in a one-on-one situation. Jon Mikel Aramburu eventually equalised with an excellent 20-yard volley shortly before half-time.
• Alonso gave minutes to 20 players. Enzo Fernandez (£7.0m), Gusto, Josh Acheampong (£4.5m) and Mike Penders (£4.5m) were among the first substitutes. Romeo Lavia (£5.0m), Jorrel Hato (£4.5m), Estevao (£6.5m), Jamie Gittens (£6.0m) and new signing Pep Chavarria (£5.0m) followed later.
• Fernandez received a mixed reception following recent transfer speculation. He did, however, complete a full lap of appreciation with his team-mates after the final whistle.
• Lacroix, Rogers and Chavarria all made their first Chelsea appearances of pre-season. Alonso explained afterwards that some players had only recently returned to training but still managed around an hour:

“For some players it was the first one and the last one. For us, there were some good things, some things we can improve. It’s normal at this moment for some players.

It was great to have all the team together. Some of them after three days could play for 60 minutes. It was the last test. Now we have a whole week to prepare for Fulham, but it was a good feeling in the stadium.” – Xabi Alonso

• Delap, Jackson, Welbeck, Mykhailo Mudryk (£5.5m), Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.5m), Malang Sarr (£4.5m), Emanuel Emegha (£5.0m) and Jordan Henderson (£5.0m) all missed out. Emegha and Aaron Anselmino (£4.5m) have injury issues, while Henderson may also have been unavailable through injury – reported by @NizaarKinsella. Chelsea now have a full week on the training ground before travelling to Fulham in Gameweek 1.

FREIBURG 3-0 CRYSTAL PALACE

Line-up: Henderson (Benitez, 60); Riad (Tomiyasu, 60), Richards, Canvot; Mitchell, Wharton (Hughes, 60), Kamada, Mingueza (Munoz, 77); McNeil (Nketiah, 77), Strand Larsen (Guessand, 60), Sarr (Franca, 77).

SCOUT NOTES

• Crystal Palace ended their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 defeat to Freiburg, before losing an additional 30-minute training match 1-0.
• Pierre Sage used the extra half-hour to distribute more minutes across his squad, meaning the two sides effectively played 120 minutes in Germany.
• Dean Henderson (£5.0m) made his first appearance of pre-season, while Dwight McNeil (£5.5m) made his unofficial Palace debut.
• Palace again lined up with a back three, with Chadi Riad (£4.5m), Chris Richards (£5.0m) and Jaydee Canvot (£5.0m) in front of Henderson. Sage has consistently used three centre-backs during pre-season, making it increasingly clear that this is the system he wants to take into the new campaign. Oscar Mingueza (£4.5m) and Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m) occupied the wing-back positions against Freiburg.
• Mitchell has been a regular starter throughout the summer and again offered attacking threat from the left. Early in the second half, his low delivery found Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.0m), whose flick took a deflection behind. Mitchell then picked out the striker at the back post from the resulting short corner, but his header drifted wide. The £4.5m defender therefore remains one to monitor heading into Gameweek 1. His regular pre-season minutes and advanced role are encouraging, although Palace’s defensive display in Germany highlighted the obvious clean-sheet concerns.
• Mingueza started on the opposite flank and lasted until the 77th minute, when Daniel Munoz (£5.5m) replaced him. With several options available to Sage at wing-back, and Munoz linked with a move away, the minutes situation will need monitoring once the competitive action begins.
• Adam Wharton (£5.5m) returned straight to the starting XI after making his first appearance of pre-season against Fulham. He partnered Daichi Kamada (£5.0m) centrally and lasted an hour before Will Hughes (£4.5m) replaced him.
• Sage opted for a front three of Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m), Strand Larsen and McNeil. The latter made his first Palace appearance following his summer move and played 77 minutes before making way for Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m).
• Palace struggled to create clear chances for long periods, despite enjoying spells of possession. Sarr saw one first-half effort blocked, while Strand Larsen came closest shortly after the restart with two opportunities in quick succession.
• Henderson was considerably busier at the other end. The Palace captain produced several saves on his return and repeatedly denied Freiburg during a strong spell of pressure early in the second half. He made an excellent one-on-one stop from Yuito Suzuki in the build-up to the opener, but Yannick Engelhardt reacted quickest to the rebound and converted from close range. Lucas Holer doubled Freiburg’s advantage shortly afterwards.
• Evann Guessand (£5.5m) was another notable inclusion after returning to Palace earlier in the week. He replaced Strand Larsen on the hour and operated through the middle. Guessand showed some promising signs despite failing to score. He won possession in an advanced area but couldn’t get the ball under control quickly enough to shoot. Matheus Franca (£5.0m) later flashed a dangerous delivery across goal that narrowly evaded Guessand.
• Palace finished the regulation match with greater attacking intent. Nketiah forced a fingertip save with a clever dink, while a Kamada corner caused a scramble inside the Freiburg penalty area.
• Sage then used an additional 30-minute training match to get further minutes into his players.
• Guessand remained involved and headed Munoz’s cross narrowly over. He then released Franca with a through-ball, although the pass fell slightly behind his team-mate. Nketiah also went close late on when his long-range effort grazed the crossbar.
• Freiburg scored the only goal of the additional game through Derry Scherhant. He broke through and lifted his finish over Benitez. The separate training match therefore finished 1-0, making the combined score across the 120 minutes 3-0.
• Palace’s preparations have been complicated by players returning at different stages following the World Cup and several injury problems. Sage admitted afterwards that his squad remains behind where he wants it to be:

“For the moment, I think we are not ready to play because we need more sessions. With the starting XI, we have only two or three players who have been here with us from the beginning without injury.

That’s why it’s difficult. We played maybe 30 minutes good in the first half, but it’s not sufficient because a game like this is 120 minutes. Only a quarter is not sufficient to work something else.” – Pierre Sage

• The Palace boss also explained that implementing his ideas will take time. As a result, he intends to retain elements of last season’s approach while gradually developing the team:

“It was a moment to work together with all the players. As I said before, we need more time because it’s a new staff with new ideas. To implement this kind of thing, it takes time.

I think the players who were with us from the beginning understand better than the new ones. That’s why we adapt and we will do a lot of things that the team did last year.

Because we have less time to work, we will continue our work during the season.” – Pierre Sage

• Another new signing, Anan Khalaili, didn’t travel to Germany after completing his move from Union Saint-Gilloise on the day of the game. Sage suggested it was simply too soon to throw him into action with unfamiliar team-mates.