Fulham vs Chelsea

Craven Cottage is the venue as Fulham and Chelsea meet in an all-London Premier League showdown.

Fulham emerged victorious in their last Premier League showdown against Chelsea at Craven Cottage, running out 2-1 victors in January, and are now seeking back-to-back home victories against fierce West London rivals for the first time since 1997. Marco Silva’s men outperformed the ‘Blues’ on their Premier League return last season, finishing above them in the standings. Coming into this round, they harbor a three-point lead on the downtrodden Stamford Bridge giants despite winning once in their last five league outings (D2, L2). The ‘Cottagers’ have blown hot and cold on home turf this term (W1, L1), softening the blow of a 3-0 loss to Brentford with a narrow 1-0 win over newcomers Luton Town. But goals remain at a premium for Fulham after Aleksandar Mitrovic’s exit, as they’ve averaged just 0.83 per game in the first six rounds.

On the other hand, visiting Chelsea could already be thinking of relieving Mauricio Pochettino of his duties after a dismal 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa last time out left them stranded in the lower reaches, only two points clear of the relegation zone. Except for a 3-0 home thumping of Luton in late August, the ‘Pensioners’ have gone winless in their remaining five Premier League games this season (D2, L3), not to mention their dreadful three-game scoring drought in the build-up to this travel. Nicolas Jackson’s strike in a 1-0 win over Brighton in midweek League Cup action was also Chelsea’s only competitive goal in September, highlighting the pressure on Pochettino to deliver something in this London derby. On a more positive note, they’ve only lost two of their 32 meetings with Fulham in the Premier League era (W19, D11).