Fulham vs Chelsea – Preview, H2H, Line-ups, Odds, Prediction | EPL 2022-23 

Jorginho of Chelsea against Crystal Palace-Premier League

Struggling Premier League giants Chelsea will make the short trip across London to Craven Cottage to face Fulham this Thursday in the rescheduled seventh-round game of the 2022/23 Premier League season.

Venue: Craven Cottage 

Key Statistics

Fulham have won their last four competitive games.

They have kept three clean sheets in their last four competitive games.

The hosts have won four of their nine league games at home (D3, L2).

Chelsea have won just one of their last seven competitive games (D1, L5).

The Blues have kept just one clean sheet in their last eleven games.

They are winless in their last four away league games (D2, L2).

They failed to score in five of their last seven games.

Head to head

In 30 Premier League meetings between both sides, Chelsea have 19 wins, while Fulham have just one win and ten draws.

Latest performances in all competitions

Fulham: W-W-W-W-D 

Chelsea: L-L-D-W-L

Fulham

Fulham will look to make it five wins in five competitive games this Thursday when they welcome Chelsea to Craven Cottage.

The hosts have enjoyed post-World Cup blues, as they have won all four of their competitive outings since the return to action following the hiatus. 

Marco Silva’s side come into this tie on the back of a 2-0 away win over Hull City in the FA Cup. The result followed a 1-0 away win to Leicester City and a 3-0 away win over Crystal Palace, meaning that the Cottagers have not conceded in their last three away games.

However, it is at home that they will play the Blues in this fixture and will fancy their chances, given that they have a decent home form. In the Premier League, they have lost just twice at Craven Cottage this season, and those two losses came against the high-flying Newcastle (4-1) and a lucky Manchester United side who needed a late goal to snatch a 2-1 win.

With this fixture coming when Chelsea are struggling, Fulham will see this as an opportunity to end their miserable seven-game losing run and 21-game unbeaten record against the Blues.

A win in this game will take the London side into sixth place on the PL table, just four points behind fourth-placed Manchester United. While a push for the top four will certainly look like a pipe dream at this stage of the campaign, Silva will at least want his side to continue their impressive run to ensure that they stay close to the top seven when the season ends in late May. 

Possible Fulham starting line-up

Bernd Leno, Kenny Tete, Tosin Adarabioyo, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Harrison Reed, João Palhinha, Bobby Reid, Andreas Pereira, Willian, Carlos Vinícius.

Injured: Neeskens Kebano

Doubtful: Shane Duffy

Suspended: Aleksandar Mitrovic

Chelsea

A few months ago, he could do no wrong, having gone on an impressive nine-game unbeaten run in his start to life at Stamford Bridge. But three months after taking the Chelsea job, Graham Potter is at the brink at the club following a poor run of results that has left the Blues sitting in tenth position in the Premier League.

When Potter first joined Chelsea, Fulham was the first team he was due to face, having just lost to the Cottagers as Brighton boss, but the death of the Queen and the postponement of league action meant the fixture couldn’t go on.

Now he has the opportunity to face a side he has met three times without success (D2, L1) with a Chelsea side who have utterly dominated the head-to-head meetings with Fulham.

But his team come into this tie in terrible form, having won just once in their last seven competitive games (D1, L5). The visitors kept just one clean sheet in their last eleven games and failed to score in five of their last seven games.

They are also winless in their last four away league games (D2, L2) and come into this tie on the back of an embarrassing 4-0 away loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup. 

So, as it stands, things look black and in favour of Fulham. Yet, Chelsea remain a big club and will be gunning to maintain their superiority in this fixture. But while they may want it, a growing injury list that has almost a dozen first-team players has left Potter with few tools to work with as he tries to resurrect a dying team. 

Possible Chelsea starting line-up

Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cesar Azpilicueta, Kalidou Koulibaly Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher, Kai Havertz, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. 

Injured: Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Armando Broja, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Doubtful: None 

Suspended: None 

Odds

 Fulham to winDrawChelsea to win
Odds3.303.502.15
Probability (%) 292744

Prediction

Fulham 1-2