Chelsea and Fulham will meet in a west London derby on Monday to conclude Match Day seven of English Premier League.
Chelsea head into this game at the Craven Cottage with their confidence high having finally ended a winless run of three games on Wednesday when they beat Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 in a Carabao Cup.
Nicholas Jackson scored that goal to ensure the Blues ended the month with at least a goal, and ease the pressure on Mauricio Pochettino, who has seen his side drop to the 14th position on the EPL table after managing just one win in their six games.
Fulham also head into this game as winners in the Carabao Cup. They held their nerve to outlast Championship side Norwich at home to progress to the fourth round.
Marco Silva’s side occupy the 12th position in the league with eight points. They have two wins to their name from their opening six games.
Team News
Serbian midfielder Sasa Lukic will return for Fulham after having recovered from a groin issue.
But Tosin Adarabioyo, Kenny Tete and Adama Traore are all still unavailable with minor injuries.
Chelsea’s absentee list remains long meanwhile. The match winner against Brighton in midweek, Jackson is unavailable due to one-match suspension he’s serving for collecting five yellow cards.
Malo Gusto remains banned after his red card against Aston Villa, while Ben Chilwell (hamstring) joins Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka, Trevoh Chalobah and Marcus Bettinelli on the sidelines.
Reece James is closing in on a return to full training in what will be a huge boost for Pochettino’s team.
Match Stats
Chelsea boast a good record against Fulham, but they have not beaten Fulham since May 2021.
Last season, they drew 0-0 at the Stamford Bridge that was after they’d lost 2-1 at the Craven Cottage under Graham Potter. Then, Joao Felix a loanee from Atletico Madrid got sent off on his Chelsea debut.
Chelsea have failed to score in their last three Premier League games despite attempting 45 shots in those matches. They last went four league games without a goal under José Mourinho in 2007.
Former Chelsea winger Willian, who scored against the Blues in this fixture last season, has netted four of his five Premier League goals for Fulham at Craven Cottage
Across the last 14 Premier League meetings between Fulham and Chelsea, Monday’s hosts have only led for a total of 39 minutes, all of which came in January’s 2-1 triumph.
What the managers said.
Ahead of encouter, Marco Silva said;
“It’s going to be a tough game. Chelsea is Chelsea and no-one can underestimate them because the quality is there. Of course they haven’t started the way they would’ve liked to and since Mauricio come in, they are trying to get them in a position to fight for titles.”
With the absence of Jackson, Pochettino hinted at playing without a striker.
“We have a few options, to play with a striker or without a striker. Also we need to assess all the squad after the game, things appear after 48 hours. We need to see how they are and how they recover from the effort of Wednesday. But different options can meet.”
Probable Line-ups:
Fulham: Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez
Chelsea: Sanchez; Cucurella, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher; Palmer, Sterling, Mudryk
