Chelsea is set to make a trip to Craven Cottage to lock horns with Fulham. Currently, Chelsea is struggling at 9th position in the league table with 26 points. A win against Fulham tomorrow can take them to the seventh spot.
Their rivals, Fulham, are in a relegation battle as they have accumulated only 12 points from the 16 games played. Frank Lampard and his men have failed to find consistency this season. In fact, they have registered just one win in the previous five games.
Their last Premier League fixture was against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. A poor performance from Chelsea resulted in a 3-1 home defeat.
On the opposite side, Fulham has recorded 5 draws in their last 5 Premier League games. Their most recent draw came against Jose Mourinho led Tottenham Hotspur when Harry Kane’s opener was canceled out by Ivan Cavaleiro’s 74th-minute goal.
Team News
Fulham: Tom Cairney and Mario Lemina will miss this crucial clash due to their respective injuries. A major setback for Scott Parket is that Ruben Loftus-Cheek won’t be allowed to feature against Chelsea as they are his parent club. Aleksandar Mitrovic is also a doubt for this Saturday’s game but we feel that he would be fine to play.
Chelsea: The biggest miss for Chelsea will be their engine powerhouse N’Golo Kante. The French international will not be a part of the team due to his suspension.
Expected Line-up
Fulham: Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo; Tete, Reid, Reed, Anguissa, Robinson; Lookman, Cavaleiro.
Chelsea: Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount; Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech.
Key Player to watch out
Alphonse Areola – Fulham
Generally, we don’t see many goalkeepers here but Alphonse Areola will have an important task to do against Chelsea. The Blues are yet to bring some discipline in their backline.
The quick forwards of Fulham might get a few good opportunities to find the back of the net. This is when Areola has to step up and aim to maintain a clean sheet. If he can restrict Chelsea’s attacking front-line, Fulham will have a great chance to get away with points from this game.
Timo Werner – Chelsea
It will be correct to say that the German international has found it hard to settle in England till now. He has featured in every Premier League game (17) for Chelsea this season but has scored just 4 goals and assisted 4 times.
As a striker, you should see goals in a game like this when you play against a team struggling to come out of the relegation zone. It’s time for Timo Werner to step up and prove that he is the talisman that Lampard expects him to be.
Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea
Fulham will enter into this contest with a lot of confidence. They are grinding out and getting results. Their aim is to get 40 points and stay in the English top-flight. The fragile defense of Chelsea, especially in the absence of Kante, might offer them 2-3 opportunities. If they are clinical with those chances, we might see them hitting the ball at the back of Chelsea’s net.
On the other side, Frank Lampard is under a lot of pressure. Chelsea’s board is known for sacking their managers as soon as the results stop coming in their favor. A defeat or draw against Fulham will only intensify that pressure.
