Fulham vs Chelsea Predictions

• Fulham have won just one of their last 28 Premier League meetings with Chelsea.
• Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven Premier League assignments.
• Fulham have won only two of their 16 Premier League fixtures this season.
• The Cottagers have already scored against Everton, Liverpool, Leicester and Tottenham since their promotion.

Fulham’s mid-week confidence builder

Fulham have renewed confidence after a run of five successive draws, and the Cottagers are playing with enough verve to make local rivals Chelsea work for their points in the capital on Saturday.

Scott Parker’s men made light of the short notice to earn a credible 1-1 draw at Tottenham in a hastily arranged fixture on Wednesday evening, though the point wasn’t enough to take Fulham out of the bottom three.

Chelsea need to put the foot down

The festive period could have hardly gone worse for Chelsea, whose run of just one win from six Premier League assignments between Dec 12 and Jan 3 saw them slip all the way down to 9^th in the table.

Chastening 3-1 defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City since Boxing Day in particular have cranked up the pressure on Frank Lampard, who can’t seem to get his expensively assembled summer signings to hum the same tune.

Fulham to push Chelsea hard

With just one win in 28 previous Premier League meetings with the Blues, Fulham’s record against local rivals Chelsea is awful, though the Cottagers have been a competitive force in recent weeks and they look capable of providing Chelsea with a stiff test in Saturday’s derby.

The Blues seem to have abandoned their defensive duties in late Autumn, and their return of just one clean sheet from their last seven league games since suggests Fulham should have opportunities to score this week.

The Cottagers put in a heavy shift on Wednesday evening against Spurs however, and with their energy levels sapped, a Chelsea win with both teams to score bet is fancied alongside our 2-1 correct score prediction.

Fulham injuries and team news

Ruben Loftus-Cheek ineligible to face parent club Chelsea this weekend, but apart from the on-loan midfielder, Fulham are expected to name the same set of players that performed so well against Spurs last time out.

Mario Lemina is pushing for a place in midfield however, though Parker could be reluctant to change a successful formula.

Chelsea injuries and team news

N’Golo Kante is suspended for Chelsea, and one of Billy Gilmour or Jorginho will replace him in the Blues’ midfield.

Callum Hudson-Odoi could keep his place in the team at Christian Pulisic’s expense, though Kai Havertz should return to the bench despite his goal-scoring heroics in the FA Cup.