Match Preview
Fulham vrs Chelsea
Premier League Match Day 17 2021 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 16th January 2021 KO: 17:30
Referee:
Peter Bankes (Merseyside)
Live on Sky Sports
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Chelsea will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they take on local rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday evening.
The Blues have dropped down to ninth position in the table, having been victorious in just one of their last six in the league, while Fulham have drawn each of their last five matches to sit in 18th.
Fulham were initially due to host Chelsea on Friday evening, but the match was rescheduled for Saturday when the Cottagers were pressed into action on Wednesday to play their postponed fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.
In what was the club's first Premier League match since Boxing Day, Scott Parker's side claimed a point at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Ivan Cavaleiro cancelling out a first-half effort from Harry Kane.
Fulham have now drawn each of their last five in the league against Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Southampton and Tottenham, but they have only won once since the start of November and currently sit down in 18th position in the table, two points behind 17th-placed Brighton.
The Whites have only managed one away win in the top flight this term, but they did record a 2-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup last weekend, and there is no question that Wednesday's performance and result against Tottenham will have left them in a confident mood heading into the derby.
Chelsea, meanwhile, were also in FA Cup action last weekend, comfortably dispatching Morecambe by four clear goals to ease their way into the fourth round of the competition.
The Blues have lost two of their last three in the Premier League, though, including a 3-1 home defeat to Manchester City at the start of the month.
Frank Lampard's side have actually won just one of their last six in the league, which has seen them drop down to ninth position in the table, now 10 points off leaders Manchester United.
There is believed to be pressure building on Lampard, and a poor result this weekend would leave the club's former midfielder in a tough spot ahead of a difficult trip to Leicester City on January 19.
Chelsea's record over Fulham is incredibly strong, though, having not lost to their rivals in the league since March 2006 - when Luis Boa Morte scored the winner at Craven Cottage - and the Blues will be targeting a sixth straight victory over the Cottagers on Saturday evening.
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Fulham are without a win in the past 19 meetings in all competitions, all but one of them in the Premier League. They have drawn seven and lost 12.
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Their solitary victory in the 38 most recent encounters came in the Premier League at Craven Cottage in March 2006, when Luis Boa Morte scored the only goal.
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Scott Parker's first match as Fulham manager was a 1-2 defeat against Chelsea in the Premier League in March 2019. With Frank Lampard in charge of the Blues for this game, this is the first top-flight meeting between the clubs with both having an English manager since December 1967 - Vic Buckingham (Fulham) and Dave Sexton (Chelsea).
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Among the 373 fixtures to have been played at least 50 times in the English top-flight, the lowest win percentage by a team against an opponent is Fulham vs Chelsea (six per cent), with the Cottagers winning just three of their 50 games against the Blues.
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Fulham could become the first club to draw six consecutive Premier League matches since Manchester City had a run of seven in 2009.
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They haven't gone six top-flight games without defeat since a seven-match streak from the beginning of the 2010-11 season.
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The Cottagers have only conceded three goals in their past six games in all competitions.
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Fulham's 1-1 draw with Spurs last time out ended a run of 13 consecutive Premier League defeats in London derbies. They last avoided defeat in back-to-back such games during a run of three wins between January-April 2013.
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Fulham are winless in 18 Premier League London derbies since beating West Ham on New Year's Day 2014.
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Fulham have lost 12 of their last 14 home top-flight London derbies (W1 D1), losing the last seven in a row, a record run by a London team in the top-flight. Manager Scott Parker played in Fulham's last home top-flight London derby win against West Ham in January 2014.
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Ademola Lookman has been directly involved in four of Fulham's last six league goals, scoring one and setting up three.
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Chelsea have lost four of their past six Premier League games, as many as in their previous 23.
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The Blues could lose four consecutive away league games for the first time since a run of five from October to December 2000.
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Chelsea lost 1-3 against Manchester City in their first league game of 2021 - they've not started a calendar year with two consecutive league defeats since 1993, with their first defeat in that year being at home against Manchester City.
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Timo Werner scored his first club goal since 7 November against Morecambe last Sunday. However, he is without a goal in his past nine Premier League appearances.
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Frank Lampard scored six Chelsea goals in eight Premier League appearances at Craven Cottage.