Chelsea take the short trip down the road from Stamford Bridge to face bottom-club Fulham in the SW6 derby on Saturday.
Date: Saturday, March 1st Venue: Craven Cottage Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
It’s top against bottom on Saturday afternoon as Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage to take on their closest rivals Fulham.
It’s Felix Magath’s first home game in charge of the Cottagers and he will be looking to build on a solid 1-1 draw away to West Brom last week, where the London side led the game. He is Fulham’s third manager this season following Martin Jol and Rene Meulensteen.
Chelsea, who currently top the table with Manchester City still to play their game in hand, will be looking to add to their dramatic late win at home to Everton last week and a well earned draw against Galatasaray on Wednesday.
Chelsea, of course, have the superior-looking form guide going into this one, unbeaten in 12 Premier League games prior to Saturday’s meeting, and Fulham without a win in 10 league games.
Chelsea certainly look to be the favorites going into the derby, however poor results against the likes of West Brom and West Ham prove that games against relegation threatened sides must not be taken lightly.
Chelsea won the reverse tie earlier on in the season 2-0, with John Obi Mikel infamously bagging his first, and currently only, goal in the Premier League. Brazilian playmaker Oscar opened the scoring in the game.
On their previous visit to Craven Cottage, Chelsea came away with a comfortable 0-3 victory, with a little help from a memorable David Luiz wonder-goal.
Chelsea could further increase the gap between themselves and title rivals Manchester City, with the latter partaking in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday, they will miss out on yet another Premier League game. It does mean, of course, Pellegrini’s side will have two games in hand on Mourinho’s men.
With just 11 games to go for the majority of teams in the League, and all positions, titles and relegation spots all very far from decided, wins don’t come easily but you’d expect, in theory, it wouldn’t come easier than the bottom side.
One major contrast between the two sides, apart from the obvious league positional difference, is the defences: the best and the worst.
Chelsea have conceded just 21 goals this term, a league best, while their West London neighbors have leaked the most in the league, letting opponents hit the net a staggering 59 times this season.
Chelsea have no fresh injury worries, and Fernando Torres’ start and goal against Galatasaray shows that the Spaniard is well in contention for a place in the starting XI.
In addition, Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah will be fresher than most having missed out on the midweek draw in Turkey due to being cuptied. This, combined with the fact that many of the squad look tired, could see them start.
However, David Luiz looks set to spend another week on the sidelines through a muscular injury.
This could see Frank Lampard, who’s had the goal against Everton credited to his name by the Premier League, start yet again.
It is the opinion of many a Chelsea fan that Eden Hazard needs a short break from playing time, having looked jaded since his hat-trick against Newcastle.
A clash with the League’s bottom club could be the perfect opportunity for Mourinho to implement a replacement for the Belgian.
Pre-match facts:
- Nemanja Matic has recovered the ball 42 times in the PL, more than any other Chelsea player since the Serbian’s return
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Chelsea have lost just one of their last 35 games against Fulham in all competitions
- Chelsea have faced fewer shots on target than any other team in the Premier League (81)
Fulham vs Chelsea predictions:
Chelsea line-up: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Lampard; Willian, Oscar, Schurrle; Torres
Fulham line-up: Stekelenburg; Riether, Heitinga, Hangeland, Risse; Parker, Sidwell; Dejagah, Holtby, Richardson; Mitroglou
Prediction: Fulham 0-3 Chelsea
