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Fulham logo
Premier League | Gameweek 7
Jan 12, 2023 at 8pm UK
Craven Cottage
Chelsea logo

Fulham
2 - 1
Chelsea

Willian (25'), Vinicius (73')
Robinson (9'), Pereira (14'), Adarabioyo (84'), Leno (90+7')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Koulibaly (47')
Chalobah (36'), Hall (62'), Mount (76')

Preview: Fulham vs. Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Fulham and Chelsea, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Since this article was published, this match has been postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The post-Thomas Tuchel era at Chelsea begins with a challenging Premier League West London derby on Saturday, as Fulham welcome their capital counterparts to Craven Cottage.

The Blues enter the contest on the back of a 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, while the hosts went down 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.


Match preview

Fulham boss Marco Silva during the win over Brentford on August 20, 2022.© Reuters

Few defences have been able to quell the goalscoring juggernaut that is Aleksandar Mitrovic, but the Serbian's stunning effort against Tottenham was in vain last weekend as Fulham lost 2-1 to their London rivals.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane had made the net ripple for the Lilywhites before Mitrovic found the top corner with aplomb, but away days continued to bedevil the Cottagers, who have still proven to be a tough nut to crack so far this term.

A tally of eight points from their opening six fixtures is enough to see Fulham occupy a top-half place in the table - 10th more specifically - and their only two league defeats this season have come by just the one goal against Arsenal and Tottenham.

While the Cottagers have struggled to stamp their authority on rival turf, home is where the heart is for Silva and co, as they could win three Premier League games in a row at Craven Cottage for the first time in a decade with victory over an unstable Chelsea.

The Mitrovic-inspired hosts have also struck at least two goals in each of their three home games this season - albeit while failing to keep a clean sheet - but the trusty new manager bounce could come into play for those in blue.

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel during the game with Dinamo Zagreb on September 6, 2022.© Reuters

Thomas Tuchel remained loyal to Chelsea even when their existence was being questioned at one stage, but shades of Roman Abramovich were unearthed when Todd Boehly gave the green light to the German's departure on Wednesday morning.

Tuchel had been given free rein to mould the squad as he pleased following the exit of sporting director Marina Granovskaia, but a £250m summer outlay could not save Chelsea from an underwhelming start to the season, which reached a low ebb on Tuesday.

Mislav Orsic struck the winner for Dinamo Zagreb in what proved to be Tuchel's 100th and final game in charge of Chelsea, who are reportedly on the brink of appointing Brighton & Hove Albion's Graham Potter to take the poisoned chalice.

While Chelsea followed a pattern of losing one and then winning one in Tuchel's final days, the defeat to Dinamo Zagreb marked a third straight away loss for the West London club in all tournaments, and their exhaustive defensive spending has only led to a five-game run without a Premier League clean sheet.

Potter's arrival is expected to be confirmed before the Craven Cottage bout kicks off, but interim staff may still be tasked with taking charge of the West London derby, as sixth-placed Chelsea aim to kick off yet another new era with an eighth-straight win against Fulham.

Fulham Premier League form:
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • L

Fulham form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L

Chelsea Premier League form:
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W

Chelsea form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • L


Team News

N'Golo Kante in action for Chelsea on August 14, 2022© Reuters

Fulham lost left-back Antonee Robinson to an ankle sprain in the first half of their defeat to Tottenham, meaning that Kevin Mbabu - a right-back by trade - ought to fill in for Silva's side this weekend.

Attackers Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon remain out of contention with their respective knee injuries, but the Cottagers have no other fresh concerns, and the attacking reinforcements are lining up for their opportunities.

Carlos Vinicius is fighting an uphill battle to displace Mitrovic in the number nine spot, but Neeskens Kebano and Bobby Reid are now facing increased competition from Willian and Daniel James, the latter of whom will expect to be in with a good chance of starting here.

Similarly, Chelsea also have few concerns to worry about on the injury front and should only be without the luckless N'Golo Kante, whose thigh injury may not heal completely until after the international break.

While Potter can be expected to implement a Tuchel-like back three that made him so successful at Brighton, it remains to be seen how the interim staff will set up this Chelsea side, which should feature Edouard Mendy and Marc Cucurella in defence after the pair were benched in Zagreb.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's forgettable Chelsea debut ended after just 59 minutes on Tuesday, but the ex-Arsenal and Barcelona man should fend off Armando Broja to start upon his return to the Premier League.

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Mbabu; Reed, Palhinha; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, James; Mitrovic

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Cucurella; Mount, Aubameyang, Sterling


SM words green background

We say: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea

Without being able to accurately predict how Chelsea will set themselves up for a fiery West London derby, a Fulham side who have that golden touch at home should have a glint in their eyes.

The Blues' recent record in this fixture does make for positive reading, but we are struggling to pick a clear winner, and a misfiring Chelsea attack will aim to take advantage of Fulham's own defensive lapses to take a point back to base.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:data


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Written by
Ben Knapton

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How you voted: Fulham vs Chelsea

Fulham
39.3%
Draw
21.5%
Chelsea
39.2%
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Chelsea owner and chairman Todd Boehly pictured in the stands on August 27, 2022
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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