Fulham FC
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC
Chelsea aim to rediscover winning touch against bottom three side Fulham
Chelsea to win 3-1
Some of the pressure on Frank Lampard’s shoulders has reduced of late, aided by the fact that his side haven’t played a Premier League game for two weeks.
They won their FA Cup third round fixture last weekend and have therefore had a week of rest and preparation for this one. They will see this as a huge opportunity to get back to winning ways against a side in the relegation zone currently.
Despite Chelsea’s good start to the season, spending much of the earlier parts in the top four, they now sit just two points ahead of Arsenal who have endured the worst start to a season in their history.
Fulham, on the other hand, have enjoyed a slightly better time of things lately and, despite remaining in the bottom three, have now gone five games unbeaten. Considering they lost seven of their first nine fixtures, this represents a huge upturn in form.
Nevertheless, Chelsea will be huge favourites here.
Form Guide (all comps): DDDWD
Reasons to be cheerful:
On track for their longest unbeaten run in over 10 years
Ademola Lookman is finally settling into Premier League life
Reasons to be fearful:
Terrible record against Chelsea
Despite going undefeated, they haven’t won since November
Fulham may well be quietly confident heading into this one.
They are unbeaten in their last five league matches, six overall with the win in the FA Cup last weekend. While they are yet to climb out of the bottom three, they are only two points behind 17th placed Brighton and with two games in hand.
The Cottagers have been much more solid of late, too. They’ve only conceded three goals during their last five games, having conceded 12 from their first five. It’s a dramatic improvement in form not many would have imagined.
They will need to up their scoring record of course, especially if they hold any hope of beating Chelsea – 14 goals from 16 games is a poor return.
Star Man – Ademola Lookman
The Englishman has been directly involved in four of Fulham’s last six goals.
Form Guide (all comps): WLDLW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Haven’t lost to Fulham in 19 league matches
Timo Werner finally broke his goal drought after 827 minutes
Reasons to be fearful:
Lacking confidence after just one league win from last six
Midfielder Kante misses out due to suspension
It goes without saying that Chelsea are a better side than their position in 9th suggests.
Having spent over £200m on new players in the summer means that expectations to perform well are high, but it also means that these new players will take time to settle in properly. While Timo Werner started brightly, his form dipped and it was only after 827 minutes without a goal that he finally scored one last weekend.
Many predict that Chelsea will still be challenging for a top four spot come the end of the season, they are of course only six points behind with more than half the season to go.
Having said that, with Leicester, Wolves and Burnley to come, all three of them tough sides, Chelsea will be eager to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later.
Star Man – Timo Werner
Despite his goal drought, he is Chelsea’s top scorer this season. He’ll be licking his lips against Fulham’s leaky defence.
Chelsea are big favourites to claim victory
Could move into 7th with three points
Fulham will find it tough to create enough chances
Chelsea are a side who, with the way they are playing right now, will always give their opponents chances.
Having said that, will Fulham be able to fashion enough chances to outscore Chelsea? It’s unlikely, although not impossible.
Lampard has had a full week to prepare his players for this one, and they are unlikely to let him down.
Chelsea to win 3-1
