Fulham manager Marco Silva stressed the importance of Sunday’s SW6 derby, In his pre-match press conference.
The fixture has been described as a ‘final’ by the Chelsea head coach, a sentiment echoed by our Head Coach.
“Final for us, too,” Silva said. “Like it is for them, it is for us.
“They have clear, clear goals and targets in the table. We have our main goals as well to fight for, and of course when you arrive in this final stages of the season, every game is going to be even more important, because it's coming to an end, and we have to get as many points as we can, to fight for what we want.
“It’s going to be a special derby for the fans, being able to play at home is very good.”
Boxing Day’s victory over the Blues was our first win at Stamford Bridge for 45 years, and and this weekend presents an opportunity to claim a first ever double over our neighbours in the Club’s history.
“The last three years we have been breaking some important, not records, but some important results in the history of this club against Chelsea,” Silva stated.
“I think the way we're doing that has been very, very good for the football club, and let’s hope we can do the same against a very, very good side.
“All of us recognise the quality that they have, [from a] collective point of view and individual point of view. They have been able to play most of the season with almost two teams, one in the Premier League, one in the Conference League – just shows the quality they have around the place.
“They have a lot of young but very good players, and it’s going to be a very difficult game for us, [but] with our fans, with our quality, with our ambition and our passion to play this type of game, and the will and the desire to bounce back from the last game, is going to be crucial for us to get a good result.”