Match Preview
Chelsea v Fulham
Premier League Match Day 22 2223 at Stamford Bridge, London
Friday 3rd February 2023 KO: 20:00
Referee:
Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
Live on Sky
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Since beating Chelsea in the reverse fixture, Fulham have lost both league matches and been forced into an FA Cup replay by lower-league opposition.
However, it would be unfair to suggest they have played poorly, as they were very unlucky to lose at St. James' Park as Aleksandar Mitrovic had his penalty ruled out for an unfortunate double kick, before Newcastle United netted a very late winner.
Another narrow defeat to Tottenham Hotspur saw them play slightly below their very high levels of recent weeks, but an Antonio Conte side can be difficult to break down.
Manager Marco Silva made a few changes for their cup tie versus Sunderland and produced a fantastic spectacle in which both sides could have won.
Having 22 shots on goal, 12 on target and 69% possession shows that despite failing to win the game, Fulham are still capable of dominating the play even with some fringe players in the side against an in-form Championship outfit.
If Fulham can pull off a famous win here at Stamford Bridge, they would move into sixth before the rest of the league play.
Fulham's only wins at Stamford Bridge came in 1964 and 1979, neither of which were in the top flight.
It would also be the first time in the club's history that they have completed a league double over Chelsea, and it would certainly have their fans dreaming of a first European adventure since 2011.
The Blues spent in excess of £300 million during the month, but need a mammoth turnaround to make the top four this season.
After the high-profile signings of Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk earlier in January, Chelsea blew those transfers out of the water with a record-breaking fee to bring World Cup Golden Boy Enzo Fernandez to the Bridge on deadline day.
The £106.8m spent on the Argentine means it is an all-time English record transfer fee, and having played five games for Benfica post-World Cup, Fernandez will be ready to make an immediate impact in the side.
With that signing taking their spending for the season to over £600 million, the Chelsea hierarchy are certainly putting a lot of faith in Graham Potter to turn their fortunes around after a woeful season on the league front especially.
This fixture will be a rematch from the thrilling encounter at Craven Cottage three weeks ago, which saw Fulham win 2-1 as Felix was sent off on debut for Chelsea.
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 yet another must win match for a club in the media spotlight given their recent spending, who are inexplicably down in 10th.
Even though only three sides have conceded fewer goals, Chelsea's problems lie mainly in attack, and not signing an elite-level, out-and-out striker, despite the astronomical figures they have paid out, could backfire.
Kai Havertz, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic are among a long list of Chelsea attacking options who have performed below expectations this season, as that quintet of players have notched just 14 goals between them in the league.
The red card to Felix was an extraordinary welcome for him to the Premier League, but the brief glimpses seen of the Portuguese international, and that of Mudryk at Anfield, suggests that the duo could make the difference for Chelsea in the second half of the season.
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Fulham won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Craven Cottage on 12 January and can do the double over Chelsea for the first time. This is the 38th season they have been in the same division.
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The Cottagers have only managed two victories in 37 away league games against Chelsea: 2-1 in the top flight in March 1964 and 2-0 in the second tier in October 1979.
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Chelsea are unbeaten in all 15 Premier League home matches against Fulham, winning 2-0 in each of the past three encounters.
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Fulham are one short of equalling the club Premier League record of five away victories in a season, set in 2003-04.
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They are vying to win a fourth top-flight London derby for the first time in a single season.
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Six of their eight league defeats this season have been by a single-goal margin, including the last four.
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Fulham have been awarded an unrivalled seven Premier League penalties in 2022-23.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in all three of his London derby away appearances in the top flight this season.
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Marco Silva is winless in all four away matches as a manager versus Chelsea in all competitions. Those games came with four different clubs.
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Chelsea have only won four of their past 15 matches in all competitions (D4, L7).
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They are winless in all nine Premier League games this season against the teams currently above them in the table. Fulham are seventh, two points above the Blues.
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This is Chelsea's first Friday fixture in the league since a 1-0 win at West Brom in May 2017.
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The Blues have used 29 players in the Premier League this season, a joint-high alongside Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
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Graham Potter is winless in all four Premier League matches as a manager versus Fulham (D2, L2).
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