Yahoo Sports Chelsea vs Fulham – Match Preview and Team News
Chelsea face Fulham for the 35th time in the Premier League era on Saturday for their third London derby in the month of December.
The Cottagers are without a win in their last 19 visits to Stamford Bridge dating back to 1979, and have only beaten the Blues twice in the past 18 years.
Enzo Maresca, whose side are still chasing an unlikely title this season, is without seven players for the visit of their local rivals. Romeo Lavia is sidelined by a hamstring injury he sustained earlier this month and has not recovered in time for the Boxing Day fixture.
Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, and Omari Kellyman are also unavailable due to injuries, while Mykhailo Mudryk is provisionally suspended by the FA after failing a doping test. Ben Chilwell remains out of the picture, although Marc Cucurella returns from suspension.
Marco Silva has a number of injury concerns, with Sander Berge, Sasa Lukic, Kenny Tete and Emile Smith Rowe all doubts. Reiss Nelson and Harrison Reed are out injured until next year.
Chelsea vs Fulham – Match Preview and Team News
Form
Chelsea: WWWDW
The Blues have been in excellent form lately, although they were held to a goalless draw by Everton in their most recent outing. They’ve already beaten two London rivals this month, defeating Spurs and Brentford by one-goal margins, while they handily swatted aside Astana and Shamrock Rovers in the Uefa Europa Conference League.
Fulham: DWDDD
The Cottagers have won just one of their last six games in the Premier League, but they are on a five-game unbeaten run. After losing 4-1 to Wolves they came through a tough run of games admirably, drawing with Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool and beating Brighton. They disappointingly drew 0-0 with Southampton at home at the weekend, although the Saints sat deep and refused to give anything away.
Read – Fulham predicted lineup and team news vs Chelsea
Last Meeting
Chelsea 1-0 Fulham, Premier League, 13 January 2024
A Cole Palmer penalty deep into first-half stoppage time was the difference between the two side when they last met at Stamford Bridge earlier this year. Malo Gusto was extremely fortunate not to be red card for going in studs up on former Chelsea winger Willian in the 38th minute.
Read – Chelsea predicted lineup and team news vs Fulham
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Disasi, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Fulham XI: Leno; Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Cairney, Pereira; Wilson, King, Iwobi; Jimenez.
What time is kickoff?
Chelsea and Fulham kick off at 3pm at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, 26 December.
Who is the referee?
Sam Barrott will take charge of the match and he will be assisted by Lee Betts and Nick Greenhalgh on the touchline. Sam Allison has been named as the fourth official. The VAR is Paul Tierney and he will be assisted by James Mainwaring.
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Odds
Chelsea: 4/9
Draw: 4/1
Fulham: 5/1
What TV channel is Chelsea vs Fulham on?
The game is being streamed live on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and is broadcast by Premier Sports 1 in the Republic of Ireland.
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