The most competitive west London derby in years takes place on Thursday as Fulham host Chelsea.
Blues fans have often laughed at being dragged into this rivalry but Graham Potter’s side enter this game three places and three points behind Fulham, who have played one match more than their sinking opponents.
Fulham have won three on the bounce in the Premier League and will be absolutely desperate to add to the misery down the road at Stamford Bridge, where many fans have lost patience with the new regime.
Here’s all you need to know about this one.
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Fulham team news
The injury bug hasn’t made it to Craven Cottage as Marco Silva has very few fitness concerns to address here.
Shane Duffy has been unwell but is expected to return in time for this one, leaving long-term absentee Neeskens Kebano as the only certain absentee.
Manor Solomon, who is just back from a knee injury, played 15 minutes against Hull City at the weekend and may get more minutes off the bench while Willian, who made 339 appearances for Chelsea, lines up against his former employers.
(4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Mitrovic
Chelsea team news
Mason Mount returned from injury to face Man City but Chelsea lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a back injury in the build-up to that game, leaving the Blues with ten injured first-teamers.
Alongside Aubameyang, Chelsea have lost Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Armando Broja.
Potter would likely prefer to make wholesale changes to the team that were comprehensively humiliated by City, but fitness concerns limit his options.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Fulham
(4-3-3): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Silva, Chalobah, Cucurella; Chukwuemeka, Zakaria, Kovacic; Ziyech, Havertz, Mount
This fixture normally represents a routine victory for Chelsea but the tables have turned completely this season and it’s Fulham who will enter this one with all the confidence in the world, and rightly so.
The Cottagers are flying right now, and while their recent victories have all been against bottom-half sides, there’s no reason for Fulham to believe they cannot compound Chelsea’s misery with another huge performance.
Potter will demand a response from Chelsea, but will he actually get one? At this point, that seems unlikely.
Prediction: Fulham 2-1 Chelsea
Source : 90min.com