Premier League: Fulham Aiming to Give Chelsea Some More Blues

Fulham vs Chelsea

Fulham vs Chelsea is a top half Premier League clash between one team delighted to be there and another which is desperate to improve on its current position.

Fulham, in tenth place, can overtake Thomas Tuchel’s Blues with a win and that could be a crushing blow to Chelsea and their boss after a patchy opening to the campaign.

The Blues come into the match on the back of a Premier League win, in controversial circumstances, over West Ham and they have just been beaten in their Champions League opener.

Meanwhile, Marco Silva’s Cottagers are fighting hard on their return to the top flight and have won two and lost two of their last four games, with both victories coming at home.

Craven Cottage, on the banks of the Rover Thames, is widely known to be the most picturesque stadium in English football…but it could be the scene of a nightmare for Chelsea on Saturday!     

Talking Points

Chelsea’s woes continue in Europe

Three wins, one draw and two defeats aren’t the Premier League 2022 results Tuchel was hoping for and it leaves his team five points off the pace after just six games but, as the Blues had a trip away to Dynamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener on Tuesday night, they had a chance to do some fine tuning away from the glare of the Premier League.  

But they had no sympathy or luck in Zagreb, and it was a tough night for £70m defender Wesley Fofana, who was outpaced by Dynamo winger Mislav Orsic who fired past Kepa for a 13^th-minute opener. Chelsea had plenty of time to reply but they were as toothless as they have been at times in the league as Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech both missed good chances.   

The Blues’ meeting with West Ham last week brought them three points but it also exposed some defensive frailties, and they were very lucky to escape with all three points when Maxwell Cornet’s late equaliser was bizarrely chalked off by VAR. Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy was brushed by Jarrod Bowen after he had patted the ball out to Cornet, but there was nothing the keeper could do as the Ivorian’s thunderstrike almost bust the net.

Mendy rolled around on the floor and VAR did the rest.  

Chelsea’s big spending demands results but Tuchel’s men have now drifted out to sixth favourites to win the 2022/23 Premier League at SBOTOP odds of 34.00, and they are ranked as London’s third club behind both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. 

Another of Tuchel’s big money buys, Marc Cucurella, has made two assists and has been a bright spark, but the boss needs his big players to stand up; it’s time for midfield ace Mason Mount to get hold of this team.  

Fulham firing on all cylinders

The Cottagers are now at odds of 3.70 to be relegated after a good run of form and they are best placed of the three newcomers to survive a gruelling campaign. Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has six goals already and he’ll give Fofana plenty to think about over 95 minutes at the Cottage. Six goals in six games is a fantastic return for the Serb and the striker’s confidence is sky high.  

Midfield general and captain Tom Cairney leads a well-balanced team with an attacking threat, which has been added to by the loan signing of Leeds United winger Daniel James, while Dutch wing-back Kenny Tete has made two assists.

History

The head to head results between the west London clubs will be of no interest at all to the home fans who can only look at the figures in dismay…so better not to look at all!  In all encounters this century, Chelsea have won 21 and Fulham have won one…yes one, a 1-0 win way back in 2006.

The last time the two teams met at Craven Cottage a Mason Mount strike won all three points after Fulham’s Antonee Robinson was sent off for a dangerous foul on Cesar Azpilicueta.  

Chelsea have won the last six meetings, scoring 12 goals and conceding just two but, to be fair to the Cottagers, there have earned ten draws during this period of Blue dominance. 

In terms of recent form, Chelsea have won three, drawn one and lost two, while Fulham have won two, drawn one and lost three. There is a remarkable symmetry over the past three Premier League games, though: Chelsea have enjoyed two 2-1 home wins and suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Southampton, while Fulham have endured two 2-1 away defeats while beating high-flying Brighton and Hove Albion, 2-1 at Craven Cottage.           

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2022 betting odds are squarely behind the Blues to win, at odds of 1.74, with the Draw at 3.54 and the Cottagers are at 4.26 to spring a surprise. 

Of course the smart money should be on a Chelsea 2-1 win at odds of 6.56, though a 2-1 win for Fulham, at odds of 13.96 would continue a remarkable sequence.

 

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