Chelsea are set to host Fulham in their 21st match of the Premier League on Saturday and Mauricio Pochettino’s men are expected to confront a disgruntled Stamford Bridge following a humbling 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup semi-final during the week.
Having both fallen short in the initial legs of their EFL Cup semi-finals, Chelsea and Fulham aim for a measure of redemption in Saturday’s Premier League West London derby.
While Chelsea fell short to Middlesbrough, Fulham were beaten 2-1 by Jurgen Klopp’s high-flying Liverpool.
Prediction
Chelsea are 10th in the league and Pochettino is aware that a win at the Bridge on Saturday could take his team to the eighth position should Newcastle and Manchester United lose their respective matches. Much is not expected from Fulham but keeping the Blues’ current form in mind, a win for the visitors cannot be ruled out.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-2 Fulham
Team News
In addition to Africa Cup of Nations representative Nicolas Jackson, numerous injured Chelsea players will observe from the sidelines this weekend, including Wesley Fofana (knee), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Robert Sanchez (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring), Reece James (hamstring), and Romeo Lavia (thigh).
There is also uncertainty surrounding the unfortunate Christopher Nkunku, who sat out the Boro loss with a new hip concern, while Ben Chilwell (hamstring), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), and Benoit Badiashile (unspecified) are all on the touch-and-go list.
Meanwhile, Fulham welcomed back veteran defender Tim Ream to the matchday squad for their semi-final showdown with Liverpool. However, the 36-year-old remained an unused substitute after recovering from a calf issue, and the visitors are still without Adama Traore (thigh) for the time being.
Harrison Reed stayed down after taking a knock to the side at Anfield on Wednesday, and Marco Silva, Fulham's coach, also disclosed that the midfielder was not feeling 100% before the game began, so a return for Tom Cairney would not be surprising.
Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Fode Ballo-Toure are all unavailable due to their AFCON call-ups, but most of Silva's starters from Wednesday evening are expected to be fielded from the outset again, unless fatigued legs compel the Fulham manager to make changes.
Head to Head
Since 2001, the two sides have locked horns a total of 36 times where the Blues emerged winners in 22 matches while Fulham won two. The remaining 12 encounters ended in draws.
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Gallagher, Fernandez; Sterling, Palmer, Mudryk; Broja
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez