Fulham vs Chelsea

Craven Cottage sets the stage for an all-London Premier League encounter between Fulham and Chelsea.

After nearly knocking on the door of an unexpected Champions League qualification, Fulham’s season has descended into chaos, largely thanks to their dreadful away form. The Cottagers have lost their last three Premier League games on the road, including Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth. Therefore, they’ll cherish a return to familiar West London surroundings for a highly anticipated clash against Chelsea – a side they’ve defeated twice across their last five league meetings (D1, L2). Though that’s far from jaw-dropping, it’s more wins than they managed across their previous 40 H2Hs across all competitions (W1, D13, L26). Furthermore, after a 2-1 victory in December’s reverse fixture, Fulham could make history this weekend and pull off a first-ever league double over out-of-form Chelsea. 

On the other hand, a 2-1 home loss to Legia Warsaw in midweek Europa Conference League action marked Chelsea’s first continental defeat this season but wasn’t enough to prevent them from reaching the semi-finals as 4-2 aggregate winners. Back to their Premier League duties, Enzo Maresca’s men must bounce back from a gut-wrenching 2-2 home draw against relegation-bound Ipswich last weekend to increase their chances of locking down a top-five spot. Confidence comes from Chelsea’s impressive run of five wins from their six most recent away H2Hs. However, the Blues have stuttered on the road, going winless across their last eight Premier League travels (D3, L5), ominously finding the back of the net three times during that troublesome sequence.