Fulham and Chelsea today meet in the first west London derby of the Premier League season.
The Blues make the short trip to Craven Cottage having finally ended a miserable three-game scoreless streak against high-flying Brighton in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday night.
Nicolas Jackson notched the winning goal in the third-round tie at Stamford Bridge to ease the early pressure both on himself and manager Mauricio Pochettino following a worst start to the campaign from Chelsea since 1979 that sees them now sit 15th in the table with just one victory from their first six games.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW FULHAM VS CHELSEA LIVE!
Fulham were also winners in the cup, holding their nerve to outlast Championship side Norwich at home after an expected home win over Luton in the top-flight was followed by a tepid stalemate with Crystal Palace.
It’s been a somewhat inconsistent start to 2023/24 so far for Marco Silva’s side, who have two wins, two draws and two defeats to their name so far to occupy a slot in mid-table.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Fulham vs Chelsea is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off time tonight on Monday October 2, 2023.
The match will take place at Craven Cottage in west London.
Where to watch Fulham vs Chelsea
TV channel: In the UK, Fulham vs Chelsea will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage of Monday Night Football beginning at 6:30pm.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella and Dom Smith at the ground.
Fulham vs Chelsea lineups and team news
Fulham XI: Leno; Castagne, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha, Andreas; Wilson, Jimenez, Willian
Subs: Rodak; Bassey, Ballo-Toure; Cairney, Lukic, Iwobi, De Cordova-Reid; Muiz, Vinicius
Chelsea XI: Robert Sanchez; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Palmer, Fernandez, Mudryk; Broja.
Subs: Petrovic; Gilchrist, Brooking, Maatsen; Ugochukwu, Matos, Madueke, Sterling; Washington
Fulham vs Chelsea prediction
Chelsea scraped past much-changed Brighton in the Carabao Cup, but the performance was certainly still nothing to shout about - they should have seen midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu sent off in the first half with the score tied at 0-0 - and didn’t exactly herald a likely immediate upturn in fortunes.
There were signs that their luck might finally be beginning to change, though a trip to a Fulham side that will relish the chance to inflict more misery on their closest neighbours represents another tough test.
Fulham are searching for consistency after blowing rather hot and cold so far this term, with a feisty draw likely on the cards in west London on Monday night under the lights.
1-1 draw.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Chelsea boast a very strong record against their local rivals overall, though have actually not beaten Fulham now since May 2021.
Last season, they drew 0-0 at home having lost 2-1 at the Cottage under Graham Potter, when Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix was sent off on his Blues debut.
Fulham wins: 12
Chelsea wins: 50
Draws: 27
Fulham vs Chelsea match odds
Fulham to win: 13/5
Chelsea to win: 11/10
Draw: 12/5
