Chelsea vs Fulham Prediction and Analysis
The London derby between Chelsea and Fulham opens the 22nd round of the English Premier League on Friday night at Stamford Bridge.
This is the 2nd meeting between these two rivals in the last 3 weeks, following their clash at Craven Cottage on January 12th.
It was won by the Premier League newcomer 2-1. And now the Blues will have a convenient opportunity for revenge against them.
An eventual win here would come to show that Graham Potter's side are on an upward trend.
Chelsea have picked up 4 points in their last 2 Premier League league matches, keeping a clean sheet.
Prerequisites for success are not missing considering that the Blues had won 7 straight matches against Fulham.
Before the 1-2 loss I mentioned above.
Given the low-scoring matches played by the two rivals recently, I expect that there will not be many goals here either.
There were under 2.5 goals in 7 of Chelsea's last 8 league games, as well as in 3 of 4 at Fulham.
Prediction for possible correct result: 1-0 or 2-0 for Chelsea.
Chelsea - statistics and info
The two teams played less than a month ago at Craven Cottage, with Fulham winning 2-1.
It was then Chelsea's fifth loss in seven Premier League games.
In addition to the defeat, the Lions' expensive new signing Joao Felix was sent off in the match.
Since then, however, Graham Potter has stabilized the team .
This came via a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace and a goalless draw away to Liverpool.
New £89m signing Mihailo Mudric put in an encouraging performance as an Anfield substitute.
Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta said of the 22-year-old former Shakhtar Donetsk player:
"He's very confident. He just has to express himself the way he does.
"It's great to see his energy and he will be a very important player.
“It was his first game since November, so it was like pre-season for him.
"He played 35 minutes at Anfield, so it's not the easiest debut and I think he did brilliantly."
Chelsea continued their winter shopping spree with the signing of right-back Malo Gusto for £26.3m.
He is a France youth international but was loaned back to Lyon.
An early exit from the FA Cup gave the Blues a break last weekend.
So Potter's men should be fresh for today's game.
Fulham - statistics and info
Fulham made it five straight wins in all competitions in late December and early January.
But since then they have been in a downward trend .
The Cottagers suffered back-to-back 0-1 defeats to Newcastle and Tottenham in the Championship.
Before being held to a 1-1 home draw by Sunderland in the FA Cup.
Jack Clarke capitalized on a mistake by Issa Diop to give the Black Cats the lead in the sixth minute.
But Tom Cairney saved Fulham with a 61st-minute equaliser.
"Strange game, I can say," commented Marco Silva. "It was intense, a typical FA Cup game."
"Of course we were more dominant. But the game was too broken for me as a manager to enjoy.
“We conceded a cheap goal but overall we created enough chances to score more goals.
"On the other hand, I think we gave them a lot of opportunities to score and a few counter-attacks."
Fulham have exceeded expectations so far this season and go into this clash 2 points and 3 places above their opponents.
Squads and injured footballers
Chelsea
Lineup: Arizabalaga; Chaloba, T. Silva, Badiashile; Azpilicueta, Kovacic, Hall, Cucurella; Mount, Mudrick, Havertz
Injured: Kante, Zakaria
Punished: Felix
Fulham
Lineup: Flax; Tetteh, Diop, Reim, Robinson; Palinha, Reed, A. Pereira; Dekordova-Reid, Mitrovic, Willian
Injured: Kebano
Matches between Chelsea - Fulham
| League | Date | Match |
|---|---|---|
| VL | 12/01/23 | Fulham 2:1 Chelsea |
| VL | 01/05/21 | Chelsea 2:0 Fulham |
| VL | 16/01/21 | Fulham 0:1 Chelsea |
| VL | 03/03/19 | Fulham 1:2 Chelsea |
| VL | 02/12/18 | Chelsea 2:0 Fulham |
| VL | 01/03/14 | Fulham 1:3 Chelsea |
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