---
title: "Chelsea line up Portsmouth friendly with £47m Palestra expected to feature before Bournemouth"
canonical: "https://readchelsea.com/2026/10/02/chelsea-portsmouth-friendly-palestra/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "James Chettle"
section: "Chelsea News"
published: "2026-10-02T08:13:00Z"
modified: "2026-10-02T08:13:00Z"
---

# Chelsea line up Portsmouth friendly with £47m Palestra expected to feature before Bournemouth

Chelsea have reportedly arranged a behind-closed-doors friendly against Portsmouth this weekend, giving Xabi Alonso another opportunity to assess his squad before Premier League football resumes.

[Football.london reporter Bobby Vincent](https://x.com/BobbyVincentFL/status/2105694230509163006) identified the Championship club as Chelsea’s opponents, crediting the original reporting to the Daily Mail’s Kieran Gill.

[The Sun reports](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/40556165/chelsea-secret-friendly-portsmouth-palestra-first-game/) that £47m summer signing Marco Palestra is expected to get minutes in the fixture.

The Italian has yet to make his competitive Chelsea debut after a quadriceps injury disrupted the promising start he made during pre-season.

## Chelsea Portsmouth friendly offers Palestra another step

ReadChelsea has already covered [Palestra’s return to training at Cobham](https://readchelsea.com/2026/09/30/marco-palestra-chelsea-training-cobham-return/).

A match against outside opposition would give Alonso a different measure of his readiness, allowing the defender to build sharpness before competing for a Premier League place.

In an [earlier club update on Palestra’s recovery](https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/xabi-alonso-updates-on-marco-palestra-fitness), Alonso identified Bournemouth as a return target and described the player’s frustration at missing the opening weeks.

The proposed friendly also creates an opportunity to assess members of the [senior group working at Cobham during the international break](https://readchelsea.com/2026/09/21/xabi-alonso-11-man-chelsea-group-cobham-international-break/).

The reports do not provide a confirmed line-up or kick-off time.

Chelsea host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 10 October. Palestra’s involvement in that competitive fixture remains a selection decision for Alonso.