Chelsea vs Fulham

Stamford Bridge is the venue as Chelsea and Fulham go head-to-head in an all-London Premier League match-up.

When it looked like Chelsea had picked up momentum with three consecutive victories across all competitions, disaster struck as second-tier Middlesbrough toppled the ‘Blues’ 1-0 in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final tie last weekend. Back to Stamford Bridge, where they humbled Preston North End 4-0 in FA Cup action at the start of 2024, Mauricio Pochettino’s men bid to maintain an eye-catching seven-game unbeaten home streak (W5, D2 – 90mins only) and potentially reduce a substantial 11-point deficit on sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Fulham’s visit bodes well, knowing the ‘Pensioners’ have racked up five consecutive clean sheets in home league H2Hs (W3, D2), with each of their three wins in this stretch yielding an identical 2-0 scoreline.

In the meantime, Fulham got 2024 off to a winning start, squeezing past Rotherham 1-0 in the FA Cup round three before spurning a halftime lead in a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final clash. However, the ‘Cottagers’ ought to take the field in high spirits after winning back-to-back Premier League London derbies, including an incredible 2-1 victory against title-bidding Arsenal. It’s been over a decade since Fulham last won three consecutive such fixtures. Considering they’ve emerged victorious only once on their ten Premier League travels this season (D3, L6), it’s likely to stay that way, especially knowing they’ve drawn a blank in each of their three league matches on their travels to teams placed between 9th and 14th (D1, L2).