Prediction: Chelsea vs Fulham

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport

In a rematch after Fulham’s 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage three weeks ago, Chelsea are set to welcome the Cottagers to Stamford Bridge on Friday evening. Their clash will be the 21st of the season in the league for the hosts, and 22nd for the visitors, and they come into it from very interesting table positions.

Chelsea

In the final hours, or perhaps even minutes, of the January window, Chelsea broke the Premier League transfer record with the £107m (€120m) acquisition of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, not only beating Manchester City’s £100m signing of Jack Grealish from 2021, but completely outshining two of their own star signings from this window, Joao Felix who came in on loan from Atletico Madrid, and Mykhaylo Mudrik, the winger who arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee potentially rising to €100m.

Fernandez’s arrival has taken Chelsea’s total spending for the 2022/23 season to more than £600m, making them the talk of the press at the moment. It has certainly raised the expectations currently engulfing manager Graham Potter, with finishing inside the top four made a clear priority; without it, the club could potentially face serious FFP problems in the near future.

Despite all that investment, that will not be easy. The gap separating Chelsea (10th with 29 points) from Manchester United in fourth and Newcastle in third stands 10 points wide at the moment, with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur (36), Brighton and Hove Albion (31), Fulham (31), Brentford (30) and Liverpool (29) squeezed in between. There is, of course, a long way to go yet, but the task feels like a mountain to climb and the competition serious.

Chelsea’s last-six run in all competitions consists of a 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest, a 0-1 defeat at home to Manchester City and another one, 4-0 at the Etihad, in the FA Cup, that 2-1 loss away to Fulham, a 1-0 win at home over Crystal Palace, and a goalless draw against Liverpool at Anfield.

Team News

Having been sent off on his club debut at Craven Cottage, Felix will be serving the last of his three-match ban. Striker Armando Broja is out with an ACL rupture and won’t be back this season at all. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (hand), wingers Raheem Sterling (hamstring) and Christian Pulisic (knee), midfielders N’Golo Kante (thigh), Denis Zakaria (hamstring), as well as defender Wesley Fofana (knee) remain out too.

Fullbacks Ben Chilwell (hamstring) and Reece James (knee) could be back for this game having returned to training last week, though it remains to be seen if Potter decides to risk either of them so early.

Jorginho has left the club to join Arsenal, while fellow midfielder Conor Gallagher and winger Hakim Ziyech saw their transfers fall through at the eleventh hour and could be left on the bench.

With Mendy out of the picture, there’s no doubt about Kepa Arrizabalaga starting between the posts. Thiago Silva is expected to command the back line, with Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile, another recent acquisition, joining him to form the back line of three. Mateo Kovacic and young Lewis Hall could pair up in the middle of the park, with Mason Mount playing further up to support Mudryk and Kai Havertz in attack.

Fulham

Having just returned to the Premier League, Fulham would most likely have been happy to secure survival at the end of the season had they been offered that at its start, but the hopes and expectations of their supporters have probably changed since. Back then, nobody would’ve expected them to compete for the places bringing European football next season, but that’s where the Cottagers have come under Marco Silva.

At the moment, Fulham are in seventh place with their 31 points, the same as Brighton in sixth, and the way the campaign has been going for some of the teams around them – Chelsea included – it’s not too hard to imagine them booking a place in Europe. Silva has created a very compact group of players, tactically disciplined and capable of causing problems for any opposition, even the best.

That said, it seems a very successful run has recently come to a halt for Fulham. Having previously won twice on the trot, their last-six run consists of a 0-1 win away to Leicester City, a 0-2 FA Cup triumph away to Hull City, that 2-1 home win over Chelsea, a 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle, a 0-1 defeat at home to Spurs, and a 1-1 home draw against Championship side Sunderland in the FA Cup.

Team News

Silva’s squad is in a pretty good shape right now, winger Neeskens Kebano being the only player out of action as he walks down the recovery road following an Achilles rupture.

Fulham have also strengthened their ranks this winter, signing midfielder Sasa Lukic from Torino and bringing in Cedric Soares on loan from Arsenal to provide depth on the right defensive flank.

With Bernd Leno in goal, Issa Diop is expected to link up with captain Tim Ream in the heart of defence with Kenny Tete on the right and Antonee Robinson on the left. Joao Pahlinha and Harrison Reed will likely pair up in the middle of the park, with Andreas Pereira further up as a No. 10. Bobby Decordova-Reid and Willian should be attacking from the wings, supporting striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Conclusion

There is much pressure on this expensive assembly that is the Chelsea team to deliver results as soon as before, and there is every reason to expect players like Mudryk and Badiashile to shine again after fine individual displays against Liverpool. The Blues are rightly considered favourites to win, regardless of what happened at Craven Cottage. Any other result would surely attract all sorts of unwanted attention for Potter and his men.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport