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Match preview
A huge West London derby between two clubs located just 1.6 miles apart although, on the pitch, they’ve been operating in different stratospheres in recent decades.
So, literally no one would’ve predicted that it would be Fulham who kick off three points and three places better off than their neighbours.
The Cottagers are one of just two clubs, Man United the other, who’ve won all three Premier League matches since the Boxing Day restart.
Following victories over Crystal Palace and Southampton, Marco Silva’s team beat Leicester 1-0 last mid-week.
Aleksandar Mitrović’s goal at the King Power ensuring Fulham have already matched their points tally from two years ago.
This leaves the Whites seventh, on course to match their best-ever top-flight finish, achieved in 2009.
So now, can the Cottagers end their 21-game winless run against Chelsea, last beating their big rivals in 2006.
Well, the Blues make the shortest of short away trips in horrendous form, with confidence having hit rock bottom.
On Sunday, Graham Potter’s team were smashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup, ending the game with a pitiful xG figure of 0.09.
In the league, Chelsea have won just one of their last eight, dumped out of both domestic cups in this period too.
Having beaten only Bournemouth since 16 October, the Blues are all the way down in tenth, enduring their worst form since December 2016, when José Mourinho was sacked.
For now, Potter remains in his position, but Todd Boehly surely can’t be enjoying what he is seeing.
One feels if Potter doesn’t get a positive result here, and then at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday, he could be in serious trouble.
So, can Fulham inflict yet more misery on Chelsea at Craven Cottage?
Fulham team news
The headline team news is that Aleksandar Mitrović will miss this game suspended, after picking up a 78th minute yellow card at the King Power.
So, as was the case at Hull on Saturday, Carlos Vinícius will lead the line; his sole Premier League goal, to date, came for Spurs against Aston Villa.
Marco Silva made whole-sale changes in the FA Cup but, Mitrović aside, this team will look a lot like the one that beat Leicester nine nights ago.
Issa Diop could return alongside Tim Ream at centre-back, while Willian will face the club he made 339 appearances for.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha, Pereira, Decordova-Reid, Willian; Vinícius.
Chelsea team news
Given the length of Chelsea’s injury list, if you’re fit, you’ve got a very decent chance of starting.
Édouard Mendy, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kanté, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja are all currently sidelined.
James’ importance is underlined by this stat: despite the fact he’s only featured in eight Premier League games (47%), 18 of Chelsea’s 25 points (72%) have been earned in these matches.
Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasn’t even on the bench at the weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s included here.
Young defenders Bashir Humphreys and Lewis Hall did both start at the Etihad, while David Datro Fofana came on for his debut.
Benoît Badiashile and Andrey Santos will both be hoping to make their debuts in this match.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Kovačić, Zakaria, Gallagher; Ziyech, Mount, Havertz.
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Fulham vs Chelsea: Match statistics
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