No more international breaks until March!? Hallelujah!

Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Luke Bosher along for the ride as we relish the return of the Premier League - and Saturday's long trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

We've got a round up of the international Blues in action - before pondering how that will impact upon Enzo Maresca's ever-unpredictable team selection, why this could be a big opportunity for Liam Delap to kickstart his season - and whether Cole Palmer should be risked with Barca and Arsenal on the horizon?!

CFCW suffered disappointment at the weekend, held to a 1-1 draw by bottom of the table Liverpool to see them fall three points behind Man City at the top of the WSL table. Can they use that as fuel when they face old foes Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday night?

We'll be back on Monday to round up events in Lancashire - and look ahead to the visit of Spanish champions Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher and Cerys Jones

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

165 games later...

Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Liam Twomey alongside him for the seismic fallout from Malo Gusto scoring his first ever senior goal - which got the ball rolling on Chelsea's ultimately incredibly comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night.

We talk the ongoing great rotation debate, whether starboy Estêvão should be in from the start - and whether this enforced break will give some of the team a chance to get back to something like full fitness after a punishing schedule.

Cerys did the double-header on Saturday, also in place at The Emirates for the eventful 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Chelsea in the WSL. We've got reaction to that one and a simply sensational first league goal from Alyssa Thompson.

We'll take a pause for the last international break until March (hallelujah!) - but return the back end of next week to look ahead to the trip to Turf Moor AND the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek.

Join the Straight Outta Cobham Fantasy League!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Cerys Jones and Liam Twomey

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Qarabag had lost all seven of their previous matches against English opposition, but that's fine...

Producer Lucy's got reaction from the 2-2 draw with the Azerbaijani champions out in Baku - with Cerys Jones across the game for The Athletic on a night where the Blues avoided the embarrassment of a shock defeat, but still suffered a major blow to their hopes of finishing in the top eight of the league phase table.

Are Chelsea suffering due to the ongoing lack of stability in the starting XI? Why was there such little urgency from the heavily-rotated side? And what does this mean going into the visit of Wolves on Saturday?!

Matt Davies-Adams will be back with a full show on Monday looking back on that game under the lights at Stamford Bridge, as well as the huge WSL clash between Arsenal and Chelsea.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

0.05 xG?!?

Matt Davies-Adams is accompanied by two of The Athletic's finest - Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher - to look back on the 1-0 victory over Tottenham.

It was a rather bizarre evening without major incident compared to the recent mayhem between these two sides - but we discuss the complete nullification of Spurs, Robert Sanchez's impressive command of his box (while hearing from the man himself) - and run out of ways to describe just how magnificent Moises Caicedo is.

The Blues have got a long midweek trip to Qarabağ to navigate on Wednesday night. We preview that game and ponder just how many changes we'll see from the utterly unpredictable Enzo Maresca.

Elsewhere - CFCW were back in domestic action and back to winning ways after their hard-fought 2-0 win over London City Lionesses to maintain their 1-point lead at the top of the WSL table. Plus - we're all Team Hannah Hampton!

We'll be back later in the week with some quick-fire reaction to Wednesday's trip to Azerbaijan - before Matt and the gang return on Monday to bring you the fallout from Saturday evening's visit of Wolves in the Premier League.

• Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five wins in a row is a myth...

Matt Davies-Adams is joined by Sam Parkin and full debutant Cerys Jones to look back on the late 2-1 defeat by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.

We begin with the verdict of Simon Johnson direct from the press box in SW6 - before dissecting some of the finer points of the disappointing performance and result including the struggles of Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu, Enzo Maresca's somewhat perplexing selections - and the lack of defensive stability which is causing concern.

We've got a midweek trip to genuine crisis club Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup last 16 to look forward to - offering our predicted starting XI's ahead of a game that now feels like it's grown in importance with the visit to Tottenham just around the corner.

We'll be back on Monday with all the fallout from Saturday evening's trip across to our old friends Spurs - and to look ahead to the long trip to Qarabag in the Champions League!

• Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league!
• League Code: 7lntvq

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Cerys Jones and Sam Parkin

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't they know Chelsea are the ones who get the red cards?!

Producer Lucy's got reaction to the 5-1 rout of Ajax at a rainy Stamford Bridge with analysis from the press box provided by Blues reporter Simon Johnson and The Athletic's Senior Data Analyst Mark Carey.

10 changes but no problems for Enzo Maresca's side - who made a little bit of history by becoming the first team to have three teenagers score in a Champions League match.

Who stood out in the circumstances? How impressive were the youngsters? And how does this set them up for the visit of Sunderland on Saturday?

Matt Davies-Adams will be back on Monday to review that meeting with the Black Cats - and look ahead to the trip to Molineux to face Wolves in the League Cup!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, mate...

Matt Davies-Adams, Simon Johnson and Sam Parkin assemble on a gloomy Monday morning to look back on the game of two halves at the City Ground as Chelsea eventually came out 3-0 winners and spelt the end for Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest.

We discuss how Enzo's side tried their best to hand Forest the three points in a difficult first half, the impact of the half-time changes (not for the first time this season) - and praise for Marc Guiu for his immediate impact in the game.

Then - we look ahead to the visit of Ajax in Matchday 3 of the Champions League on Wednesday night. John Heitinga's side have lost their last two Eredivisie games - and were also beaten to nil in their opening two European fixtures. So - the Blues should be clear favourites coming into this one... should they!? There's also plenty of reminiscing about *that* crazy 4-4 back in November 2019.

We'll be back with a brief round up of the Ajax game on Thursday morning - before Matt and the gang return next Monday to look back on Saturday's visit of high-flying Sunderland in the Premier League!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Simon Johnson and Sam Parkin

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

• Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league!
• League Code: 7lntvq

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MDA Derby pending...

Matt's got a vintage combo of Sam Parkin and Dom Fifield alongside him as we gear up for the return of the Premier League and a trip to Nottingham Forest at Saturday lunchtime.

Two weeks on from that dramatic triumph against Liverpool - will the feel-good factor still be in full effect? Or will the international break travel and toil mean this is a tougher assignment than it looks on paper against a Forest side who are winless in seven under Ange Postecoglou? We ponder the usual selection dilemmas, desires to see Estêvão unleashed from the start - and let Matt wallow in the mess it seems the opponents have got themselves into this season.

The men may have been away - but there's plenty to catch up on when it comes to CFCW after their surprise draw with Twente in the Champions League and narrow WSL victory over Tottenham over the weekend. Cerys Jones has followed Sonia Bompastor's team closely this season and stops by ahead of the visit of Paris FC on Wednesday night.

Plus! A chance to hear from Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup winner Florent Malouda - sharing his learnings and advice for Jamie Gittens after his own slow start to life at Stamford Bridge back in 2007...

We'll be back on Monday for all the fallout from the trip to the City Ground and a look ahead to the visit of Ajax in Matchday 3 of the Champions League in midweek!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Dom Fifield, Sam Parkin & Cerys Jones

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EsteWOW hasn't been used yet, has it?!

Matt Davies-Adams is joined by The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher to revel in the glorious 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Despite initial trepidation when the team sheet dropped before kick-off, we reflect on the hugely impressive defensive performance, yet another Caicedo banger, the importance of this result (and his celebration) for Enzo Maresca and his relationship with the fans - and of course, the lift-off moment for 18-year-old Estevao after his superb 95th minute winner.

Elsewhere, CFCW dropped their first points of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Friday night. Plus - which former Blue made a total of 125 appearances across four seasons for the club in the noughties - but just 65 of those appearances came as a starter?

We'll take a short hiatus for the international break but be back with you next week for a look ahead to the MDA derby as the Blues prepare for the trip to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Jose show was back in town for one night only...

Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and a sleep-deprived Liam Twomey back alongside him to reflect on Tuesday night's narrow 1-0 win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge!

We touch on the concerns which were mounting after the performance at Lincoln and Saturday's Brighton defeat - before diving into some of the key themes from the victory over Mourinho's men with the help of a Simon Johnson voicenote amidst the thick of the action.

Then - Liverpool are in town - fresh off the back of two defeats for Arne Slot's slightly wavering Premier League champions. We rate the Blues' chances and feel strangely optimistic about them coming away with a result?!

We touch base with the fortunes of CFCW who've continued their perfect start to the season in the WSL - and shoutout Shim Mheuka for his second hat-trick of the campaign already!

We'll be back on Monday when Chelsea have hopefully entered the international break in positive fashion...!

• Join the Straight Outta Cobham PL Fantasy League!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher and Liam Twomey

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.