Boxing Day will bring us the West London derby when Fulham make the short trip to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
There is a larger gap between these two sides at Premier League table than it is on the map. Chelsea are in second place, seven places ahead of their visitors, whose home Craven Cottage is just over a mile away.
However, both teams are in strong form. Indeed, no side has taken more points than Chelsea in their last five Premier League games, while Fulham are unbeaten in the same period after facing Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Here’s everything you need to know about the latest installment of this local rivalry.
Chelsea vs Fulham H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Chelsea |
Fulham |
|---|---|
|
Everton 0-0 Chelsea – 22.12.24 |
Fulham 0-0 Southampton – 22.12.24 |
|
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers – 19.12.24 |
Liverpool 2-2 Fulham – 14.12.24 |
|
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15.12.24 |
Fulham 1-1 Arsenal – 12.08.24 |
|
Astana 1-3 Chelsea – 12.12.24 |
Fulham 3-1 Brighton – 12.05.24 |
|
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea – 12.08.24 |
Tottenham 1-1 Fulham – 12.01.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
United States |
Peacock, SiriusXM FC |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Chelsea will welcome left-back Marco Cucurella into the starting line-up after the Spaniard served his suspension, with Malo Gusto likely to return to the right side of defense and Axel Disasi potentially dropping to the bench.
Reece James returned to partial training recently, but is still nowhere close to returning from a hamstring injury, meaning he will remain on the sidelines alongside centre-back duo Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.
Romeo Lavia will hope to make the bench, but Mykhail Mudryk, who is temporarily suspended after positive doping test.
Predicted line-up Chelsea vs Fulham (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Fulham will also welcome the return of a big name from suspension as Andreas Pereira is free to start again at the top of midfield.
Both Sander Berge and Saša Lukić limped off injured last time out against Southampton and may not recover in time for this one. Kenny Tete, Harrison Reed and Reiss Nelson are not expected to play.
Expected line-up of Fulham against Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sloth; Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Smith Rowe; Wilson, Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Fulham have recently proved a tough test for the Premier League’s elite, and the Cottagers are likely to cause the same problems for Chelsea, whose stalemate with Everton it hints at vulnerability against a stubborn defense.
However, unlike Everton, Fulham have really gone for it in the last few games, scoring once against Arsenal and beating Liverpool twice. WITH ChelseaThe defense is not the strongest, there could be some joy for Marco Silva’s team.
Expect a fierce clash between the two rivals who may have to settle for a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Fulham
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