MY ACCOUNT
– Fulham sit seventh in the Premier League — three places above Chelsea
– The Blues head to Fulham having won just one of their last eight league games
– Recommended bet: Fulham to win
After our Spotlight writers correctly predicted Manchester United to beat Charlton 3-0 and Newcastle to see off Leicester without conceding in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup matches, attention turns to Thursday’s Premier League showdown between Fulham and Chelsea.
Chelsea supporters were seething as their team was humbled 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup last weekend and put Graham Potter under even more pressure as they chanted in support of former head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Owner Todd Boehly was not spared their ire either, with fans singing out the name of Roman Abramovich, and with the Blues out of both domestic cup competitions and 10th in the Premier League, they are starting to look like a club in crisis.
Potter must now try to steady the ship in the choppiest of waters, with his team devoid of confidence and potentially shorn of as many as 10 injured players as they head to west London rivals, Fulham.
The Cottagers have been one of the surprise packages of 2022-23, repeatedly upsetting the odds upon their return to the Premier League and are perhaps unfortunate not to have more big scalps to their name.
Marco Silva’s men will be looking to change that on Thursday night as they attempt to pull clear of Chelsea in the race for European places.
Team news
Fulham manager Silva has only three players unavailable but one of those is key man Aleksandar Mitrovic — the 11-goal striker serves a one-match suspension.
Attacker Neeskens Kebano could be out for the season with a ruptured Achilles and defender Shane Duffy is a doubt due to illness.
Chelsea could be without 10 players after losing attacking pair Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic to injury in the first half of their last Premier League outing — a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang faces a late fitness check due to a back complaint and fellow striker Armando Broja is out for the season following knee surgery.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has a fractured finger that could rule him out for several weeks, N’Golo Kante is not expected back until March and fellow midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek remains a doubt.
Centre-back Wesley Fofana and full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell are all closing in on a return to first-team action, but the this match might be too soon for all three.
The Blues have added Joao Felix to their squad, with the Portugal international joining on loan from Atletico Madrid for the rest of the season, but it remains to be seen if he will feature at Craven Cottage.
The stats
Chelsea have not won any of their seven matches against top-half opponents and in three away trips to teams above them in the league have lost 1-0 at Newcastle, 4-1 at Brighton and drawn 0-0 at Brentford.
Indeed, the Blues have lost more games than they have won on the road, beating only Everton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa while losing four times — including 3-0 at Leeds and 2-1 at Southampton.
Fulham have been a revelation since their promotion and all six of their defeats this term can be excused to some degree.
Silva’s men were competitive in 2-1 defeats to each of Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham — with both Manchester clubs scoring winners in added time.
Fulham’s other two losses were unfortunate m— an eighth-minute red card undermined them against Newcastle and they suffered a series of dreadful refereeing decisions when facing West Ham, which greatly contributed to their 3-1 loss.
Silva’s men have won eight of their other 12 Premier League matches and a home draw against Liverpool, victories over Brighton and Brentford, and 3-0 defeats of Aston Villa and Crystal Palace offer a fairer reflection of Fulham’s quality.
Prediction
It is rare that Fulham go into a west London derby looking down on their moneyed rivals but they sit three points and three places above Chelsea entirely on merit.
The Cottagers went into the World Cup break in fantastic form — their only defeats in six games coming in a pair of injury-time losses to Manchester City and Manchester United — and they have been just as impressive since returning, winning all four matches while conceding just one goal.
The absence of Mitrovic is undoubtedly a blow but Fulham will still see this as a huge opportunity to land their first win against Chelsea since 2006.
Potter has been unfortunate with injuries and the need to constantly change his forward line has made Chelsea’s attack awkward and disjointed in recent outings, netting just five goals in their last 10 domestic matches.
With Fulham looking increasingly resilient under Silva and Mitrovic missing, it could pay to add under 2.5 goals to any Bet Builder combinations.
But the hosts have the form and confidence to nick a goal or two to claim all three points against their struggling rivals, so back Fulham to win, which is available at 12/5 with LiveScore Bet.
