Premier League: Chelsea vs Fulham

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Fulham will host Chelsea this Thursday at what is predicted to be one of the most competitive West London football events to date. Chelsea will enter the game trailing behind with 3 places and 3 points, a rare occurrence considering the history between the two teams throughout English Premier derbies. While their opponents have played one more match than they have. 

With Fulham winning 3 matches in the Premier League, there’s no doubt that they’d like to add to their winning streak by embarrassing Chelsea with another loss. 

The said game will take place in London, England, at the Craven Cottage this coming Thursday (12. January. 2023). Kickoff time is set at 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT. To watch the game on TV and live stream, you can tune into BT sport 1 in the UK, Peacock Premium if you’re in the United States when it kicks off, or fuboTV Canada for the people living/visiting Canada. 

Chelsea vs Fulham Odds

The tension created by the change of events, with Chelsea coming across as somewhat weaker than their opposing team for the first time in a long while, bookies from different parts of the world are accepting bets for mixed odds. The following bookies are highly recommended as they not only offer some of the best odds but are also known as fast withdrawal betting sites. Below are the odds found for this exciting upcoming match:

Ladbrokes

Fulham: 23/10

Chelsea: 11/10

Draw: 12/5 

Bet365

Fulham: 23/10

Chelsea: 11/10

William Hill   

Fulham: 11/5

Chelsea: 6/5

Draw: 12/5

Fulham News

Marco Silva has little to no fitness worries to address. Shane Duffy, on the other hand, is reported as ill but will be able to make it. Leaving the team with only one confirmed absentee, Neeskens Kebano. Manor Solomon, who’s just recovered from a knee injury and played against Hull city over the weekend, may be afforded more minutes off the bench. All the while, Willian will face his former bosses after making 339 appearances for Chelsea.

Chelsea News  

The blues’ first team will have 10 injured members after Chelsea lost Pierre Emerick Aubameyang to a back injury leading up to that game. Mason Mount recovered an injury to play against Manchester City. The players Chelsea has lost are Aubameyang, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, N’ Golo Kante, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Armando Borja.

Fulham vs Chelsea Fixture

In the past, a routine victory would be expected from Chelsea. However, given their current circumstances, it seems less likely that they will make it far unless Porter makes wholesale changes to his team. With the tables turned, Fulham has all the reasons to walk into the stadium with full confidence this Thursday. 

With the cottagers soaring high, Fulham has an opportunity to bring Chelsea down to shame with another fantastic performance. 

Final Observations

  • This Far, Fulham has only won 7 of their 74 games against Chelsea. Of all fixtures to be played in English Football League history, Fulhams’ win rate against Chelsea is the lowest at 9.5%.
  • Since a 1-0 loss to Fulham in 2006, Chelsea has only lost 1 of their 30 Premier League games against them.
  • Chelsea has scored 6 goals against Fulham in their last 15 Premier League games, and at that time, it was never more than one goal per match.
  • Since April 2013, Fulham has been hoping to win Premier League London derbies in a row. With their colours from beating Brentford and Crystal Palace this term, it would help the Cottagers a great deal to win 3 more derbies in the same league season since 2013. 
  • Contrary to Fulham, Chelsea has walked away with 9 of their 11 London derbies in the Premier League. With the exclusion of the 3-2 loss at West Ham in December 2021.  
  • In 2022, both teams needed to earn 3 points in the Premier League match, even though they enjoyed a steady climb throughout the season. The upcoming kickoff between them this year is a little reminiscent of the one in September 2022 from Craven Cottage. With two teams going against each other, toe-to-toe.