Fulham vs Chelsea. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

л

Fulham FC will host Chelsea FC in the English Premier League 7th-tour  match at Craven Cottage. The fixture will take place on Friday, January 13, beginning at 01:30 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Fulham News & Current Form: 

This season Fulham had a very successful start in the Premier League, where the team pleased not only with the results but also with the content and quality of the performance. Moreover, today’s squad of the capital club is capable of making history, as after the league victories over Crystal Palace FC, Southampton FC and Leicester City FC they are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory in the top division for the first time since 1966.

The hero of the last match was Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored in the 17th minute. In general, the tactic pattern is the same as in previous years – the whole game is built through prolific team star Mitrovic (11 goals and 1 assist in 15 EPL games), Marco Silva knows how to use the strengths of his team and overall the lines can be described as balanced. His boys score a lot, at the level of teams from the top 6 — 30 resultive shots in 18 tours (6th in the league), but they also concede a lot – 27 conceded goals in the current campaign (the level of the bottom of the table).

This stunning streak has allowed the Cottagers to climb to seventh place in the table, just five points behind the Eurocup zone. In addition, the home team is particularly strong at home, having lost only twice in nine games. In 18 rounds, the team has recorded eight victories and four peaceful outcomes, corresponding to 28 points and seventh position in the standings. The team scored 30 times, but conceded as many as 27. There was also a successful start to the FA Cup, where the Londoners easily dealt with Hull City FC (2-0).

The club in recent years was stable only in the 1st: it was constantly drifting between a couple of top British soccer divisions. No one was surprised by the Cottagers’ victory in the Championship, the question was whether Portuguese coach Marco Silva had prepared his new charges to establish themselves in the EPL. 

It turns out to be a puzzling thing, but the main striking force – Aleksandr Mitrovic – will miss the upcoming game because of the yellow card suspension. Neeskens Kebano has achilles tendon rupture injury, thus he is out too.

The 23-year-old newcomer will try to step in to make up for the loss. The fixture with Hull City was the second game of Manor Solomon as a player of Fulham. As a reminder, the left winger transferred to the club from FC Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainians have sent the young talent (transfer value €18m) on loan until the end of the season. Hopefully, he will have more playing time and more importance in the upcoming games.

Chelsea News & Current Form: 

Chelsea are now below Fulham in the league standings, which says a lot about their condition and capabilities. The team, having changed their coach at the beginning of the season, is still in the middle of the table – and it would seem that the minimum goal would be to qualify for the UEFA Champions League

In 17 games in the EPL the players have scored 20 times and conceded 19, so the goal difference is very small.

In the middle of the season Graham Potter took over. The new coach was able to raise the level of his new charges only in the middle of the autumn, but then there were new problems. Nothing had changed over the winter either. They started with a 2-0 draw with the newcomer of the division, AFC Bournemouth, then managed to draw with Nottingham Forest FC. And then there was a defeat from Manchester City FC (0-1) – despite a good game, still missed once after the combination of Jack GrealishRiyad Mahrez. In the FA Cup it didn’t work at all as the Citizens crushed the Blues 0-4. Mahrez had a double, with Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez scoring the other goals.

The Chelsea fans who attended the last match against City at the Etihad Stadium shouted the names of Thomas Tuchel and Roman Abramovich. Potter’s thorny path continues.

Being asked about handling the criticism, coach Potter answered:

“You have to understand it’s part of the job. You have to look at my colleagues in a similar position, Pep Guardiola was criticized in his first season, Mikel Arteta, and Jurgen Klopp in his early seasons.”

“Football is emotional and when you lose you don’t think about it, you feel it: the pain, discomfort. Sometimes it’s hard to understand the why and it’s easier to blame somebody. I’m not saying I’ve been perfect but it’s always very complex. You try to put it into perspective and remember I am capable. The results haven’t been good enough for us and you have to respect and deal with that.”

Speaking of transfers that could improve the situation, Joao Felix moved to Chelsea from Atletico de Madrid until the end of the season.

Coach complemented the new player:

“He’s a quality player, can make a difference in the final third of the pitch, young but has had good experience. He’s a quality player that gives everyone a lift.”

The London club has leased the 23-year-old striker until the summer. Atletico reported that Felix renewed his contract with the club for another season, until 2027, before leaving.

It was reported that the club will pay €11 million for the Portuguese’s lease, and will also take the player’s entire salary for the duration of the lease – €6 million.

The player has scored 5 goals and given 3 assists in 20 games for Atletico in all competitions this season. He has 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games for Portugal at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Also, the transfer of David Fofana from Molde FK was finalized.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wants to return to FC Barcelona just six months after leaving. The forward is unhappy at Chelsea because after the departure of Thomas Tuchel and the appointment of Graeme Potter, Aubameyang was no longer counted on. Aubameyang has not been in the starting line-up since November 6. He has three goals in 15 games for the club. At Barça he scored 13 goals in 24 games.

As many as three clubs, Barcelona, Chelsea and FC Internazionale Milano are interested in Borussia Mönchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram.  At the moment, Thuram wants to stay at his current club until the end of the season.

This season, the forward has scored 13 goals and given 4 assists in 17 games for the team in all competitions. 

A shocking number of players are going to miss the game due to being injured. Raheem Sterling, N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell have hamstring injuries. Edouard Mendy has a shoulder injury, while Christian Pulisic and Wesley Fofana have problems with their knees. Armando Broja has a cruciate ligament rupture, so the recovery will take a while.

Fulham form guide: L-D-W-W-W-W

Chelsea form guide: L-L-W-D-L-L

Fulham vs Chelsea Head-To-Head Record: 

FulhamDrawChelsea
112650
  • September 21, 2013: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (Premier League);
  • March 1, 2014: Fulham 1-3 Chelsea (Premier League);
  • December 2, 2018: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (Premier League);
  • March 3, 2019: Fulham 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League);
  • January 16, 2021: Fulham 0-1 Chelsea (Premier League);
  • May 1, 2021: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (Premier League).

Fulham vs Chelsea Predicted XI:

Fulham possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Ream, Adarabioyo, Robinson, Reed, Palhinha, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Vinicius.

Chelsea possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Koulibaly, Silva, Cucurella; Kovacic, Zakaria, Jorginho; Ziyech, Havertz, Mount.

Don`t miss out 👉: East Bengal vs Jamshedpur: Preview and Prediction

Statistical preview of the match Fulham vs Chelsea:

  • Fulham’s First XI average age is 29.1 yrs.
  • Chelsea’s First XI average age is 27.2 yrs.
  • Fulham occupies the 7th position in the standings, while Chelsea – 10th.
  • Fulham won their last 3 matches.
  • Fulham have scored in their last 5 games.
  • Fulham are scoring an average of 1.80 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Fulham conceded on average 0.40 goals per game in the last 5 games.
  • Fulham are winless in the last 5 Premier League games against Chelsea.
  • Fulham have scored less than 1.5 goals in each of their last 5 Premier League games against Chelsea.
  • Chelsea are scoring in their last 7 games against this opponent.
  • Chelsea are winless in 7 of the last 8 Premier League games.
  • Chelsea are scoring an average of 0.60 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Chelsea are conceding an average of 1.40 goals per game in their last 5 games.
  • Chelsea conceded in 8 of their last 10 games.
  • The total value of Fulham’s squad is $240mln, while Chelsea’s – $914mln.

What has been said before the match:

Coach Potter commented the upcoming match:

“They’ll play with courage, personality. The points they have are not an accident. They’re up there on merit and it’s a London derby that we’re looking forward to.”

“You always feel pressure, the higher you go the more pressure/noise on the outside. At a club like Chelsea, when you don’t get the results you want, there is noise and criticism. You have to keep trying to improve, stay strong and get through.”

“We’ve got a lot of points to play but I would be wasting my time if I was focused on the next day’s training and the next match. We can improve a lot and be a lot more positive quickly with results, players and performances. The picture can change quickly.”

“I’m in regular dialogue with all the owners, two or three times a week. They’ve been nothing but supportive.”

Coach Silva is very optimistic about club’s results:

“We are really pleased with the way we restarted after the World Cup. You never know what you can achieve at the level we are playing.”

“Even before the break, we lost against both Manchester clubs in the last minute but we were in good form.”

“It [the FA Cup] is a really important competition for me, for us, for the football club. Everyone has to respect the FA Cup.”

“We are in a really busy period which is tough.We have to assess players and decide for tomorrow’s match. All the focus is in our players and our squad, and we know the positions that we should strengthen as well.”

“If someone comes and joins our football club, they need to be able to add something really important.”

“The mood in our squad is very good but we’ll not change anything. Our ambition, our desire, our respect will be the same.”

Fulham vs Chelsea Prediction:

The Cottagers have a good situation with the squad, plus the game is on home soil. Silva’s men are in great spirits – they’ve won every game since the WC break. Such results will give the confidence to bash the Blues, who are three lines below them in the table. Fulham definitely cannot be written off. The only thing that might be disconcerting is the absence of their main striking force, Mitrovic.

For the Blues, however, a win in this match is as necessary as air, otherwise, a cloud of scepticism will completely engulf the Aristocrats’ camp. The away side have failed to win five games in a row. Admittedly, the chances of winning this derby are substantially reduced by the injury blow. All lines are suffering, but the attacking aspect is especially deplorable – the team has managed to come up with only 3 goals in the last 8 games. The star newcomer Joao Felix will unfortunately not be able to help in this match. 

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Fulham will not lose and the match total to be less than 3.5 – Yes.

Don`t miss out 👉:  Hyderabad vs Chennaiyin: Preview and Prediction

Comments

0