Preview: Chelsea vs. Fulham – prediction, team news, lineups

After a rocky end to the January transfer window for chelseathey welcome fulham to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Friday night.

The Blues spent over £300m during the month but need a big turnaround to be in the top four this season.

match preview

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After the high-profile signings of joao felix Y Mykhailo Mudryk in early January, Chelsea topped those transfers with a record fee to bring the Golden Boy out of the World Cup Enzo Fernandez to the bridge on deadline day.

The £106.8m spent on the Argentine means it’s an all-time record transfer fee in England, and having played five games for Benfica after the World Cup, Fernández will be ready to make an immediate impact. in the team.

With that signing taking their spending for the season to over £600m, the Chelsea hierarchy is certainly putting a lot of faith in graham potter turn their fortunes around after a woeful season at the front of the league especially.

This match will be a rematch of the thrilling encounter at Craven Cottage three weeks ago, in which Fulham won 2-1 when Felix was sent off on his Chelsea debut.

That result left Potter in big trouble as it meant they had gone on a run of just one win in 11 domestic matches.

A win over Crystal Palace and a goalless draw at Anfield followed to ease the pressure on the manager, but this is another must-win game for a club in the media spotlight given their recent spending, which is inexplicably down the list. tenth place.

Although only three teams have conceded fewer goals, Chelsea’s problems lie mainly in attack, and not signing an elite and full-fledged striker, despite the astronomical amounts he has paid, could backfire.

Kai Havertz, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, mason assembly, sterling rahim Y Christian Pulisic They are among a long list of Chelsea attacking options that have performed below expectations this season, as that quintet of players have netted just 14 goals between them in the league.

Felix’s red card was an extraordinary welcome for him to the Premier League, but brief glances from the Portugal international and Mudryk at Anfield suggest the duo could make all the difference for Chelsea in the second half of the season. .

Very often they have the advantage over Fulham in this West London Derby also at Stamford Bridge, as Fulham’s only wins here were in 1964 and 1979, neither of which were in the top flight.

Since beating Chelsea in the reverse fixture, Fulham have lost both league games and been forced into an FA Cup replay by lower-league rivals.

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However, it would be unfair to suggest that they played poorly, as they were very unlucky to lose at St. James’ Park as Alejandro Mitrovic had his penalty canceled for an unfortunate double kick, before Newcastle United scored a very late winner.

Another narrow loss to Tottenham Hotspur saw them play slightly below their soaring levels of recent weeks, but a antonio count side can be hard to break down.

Manager marco silva he made some changes for their cup tie against Sunderland and produced a fantastic show that both teams could have won.

With 22 shots on target, 12 on target and 69% possession he shows that despite failing to win the game Fulham are still capable of dominating the game even with some marginal players in the wing against a championship team in full form.

If they can pull off a famous win here at Stamford Bridge, they’d be down to sixth before the rest of the league plays.

It would also be the first time in the club’s history that they have completed a league double over Chelsea, and would certainly make their fans dream of a first European adventure since 2011.

Chelsea Premier League Form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Fulham’s Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

team news

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With Fernandez’s signing close to the deadline on Tuesday night, he will be eligible to play here, but it’s debatable whether Potter will opt to throw him straight into the side.

Félix is ​​still suspended after his red card in the reverse match, this being the third and last game of that sanction that he has to serve.

After an exciting cameo against Liverpool, Mudryk could break into the team possibly to take anyone’s place Hakim Ziech either Conor Gallagherwho saw late transfers drop on the day of the deadline.

However, a player who left left Georgeas the Italian midfielder joined London rivals and league leaders Arsenal and with N’Golo Kante Y Denis Zakaria both injured, Potter will look forward to welcoming them matthew kovacic For this one.

The Croatian midfielder missed the trip to Anfield with a calf problem, but the coach hopes he is fine to return to the side.

By contrast, Fulham have virtually no injury concerns ahead of the game, with Neeskens Kebano the only current absentee.

Fulham were also busy on deadline day as they were able to bring in the Serbian international Sasa Lukic from Torino, who will join his compatriot Mitrovic in the squad.

cedric soares He also came on loan from Arsenal to offer more cover at right-back, with kevin mbabu apparently not in Silva’s plans as a backup.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Arrizabalaga; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Badiashile; Azpilicueta, Kovacic, Hall, Cucurella; Mount, Mudryk, Havertz

Possible Fulham starting line-up:
Lion; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed, Andreas Pereira; Decordova-Reid, Mitrovic, Willian

We Say: Chelsea 2-1 Fulham

It will be a mixed night of tension and excitement for Chelsea fans as they get their first glimpse of some of their new faces, but it will be a tall order against a very serviceable Fulham side.

It was clear from the reverse fixture, and from many other games against bigger teams this season, that Fulham fear no one, and there is scope to suggest that they could make for another frustrating night for Potter and Chelsea.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match, click here.

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