Chelsea face late calls on Pedro, Caicedo and Palestra
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Chelsea head into Friday night’s west London derby at Brentford with Joao Pedro facing an injury concern, while Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra are awaiting a final decision on their availability.
Joao Pedro appears a doubt after the Brazil football federation announced that he had been withdrawn from the national squad because of injury. The federation named Fluminense player Martinelli as his replacement for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies against Australia and India.
Despite that update, Xabi Alonso has not ruled the striker out of the Brentford match. The Chelsea manager said he wanted to be cautious and would make final calls on the squad after the final training session scheduled for Thursday. Alonso also indicated that Pedro’s involvement remained possible.
The forward has scored three goals in four Premier League games this season. His potential absence would be a setback as Chelsea prepare for a short trip across west London following a 2-2 home draw with Hull, having also lost 2-1 to Arsenal in their previous league outing.
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Caicedo is also closing in on a possible return, although Alonso has stopped short of confirming whether the midfielder will travel to Brentford. Caicedo returned to the matchday squad against former club Brighton after missing Chelsea’s opening-day win over Fulham and the Carabao Cup victory over Luton Town. He came on during that game but lasted 14 minutes before limping off.
Since then, Caicedo has missed matches against Arsenal, Leeds and Hull. Ahead of the Hull fixture, Alonso said Chelsea were not yet in a position to take risks with him. His latest update was more encouraging, with the manager saying the midfielder was getting closer and that the final squad decision would follow the last training session.
Palestra is another player awaiting a call. The Italian has yet to make his competitive Chelsea debut after missing the club’s first six games of the season. He sustained a minor knock in training before the win over Fulham, despite having been a regular during pre-season.
Palestra appeared to take part in training on Tuesday, offering a possible boost to his chances of involvement. Alonso has acknowledged the player’s frustration at his delayed debut but stressed that there will be opportunities over the season. When asked about Palestra’s prospects for Brentford, the manager said a final decision would be made after the last training session.
For now, Chelsea’s team news will determine whether Caicedo and Palestra are included and whether Pedro can feature at all. Alonso’s approach has been consistent: no player has been definitively ruled out before the final assessment.
