Water-tight Fulham welcome Chelsea to Craven Cottage for a derby which seldom fails to entertain.
The Cottagers earned their eighth clean sheet in the Premier League this season
with a goalless draw at Tottenham on Boxing Day to leave manager Roy Hodgson
delighted with their defensive stability.
| Team |
Fulham |
Chelsea |
| Games Played |
18 |
19 |
| Goal Attempts |
| Goals |
16 |
38 |
| Ave Goals per game |
0.89 |
2.00 |
| Shots (excl blocked shots) |
182 |
280 |
| % Shots on Target |
44% |
46% |
| % Goals to Shots |
9% |
14% |
| Passing |
| Short Passes |
6357 |
9355 |
| Long Passes |
1110 |
1110 |
| Overall Pass Completion % |
76% |
85% |
| Crossing |
| Total Crosses |
421 |
468 |
| Cross Completion % |
23% |
26% |
| Defending |
| Goals Conceded |
12 |
7 |
| Ave goals conceded per game |
0.67 |
0.37 |
| Tackles |
400 |
407 |
| Tackles Won % |
71% |
75% |
| Blocks, Clearances & Interceptions |
1149 |
806 |
| Discipline |
| Fouls |
214 |
238 |
| Yellow Cards |
17 |
27 |
| Red Cards |
1 |
2 |
| SetatantaSport |
"The players are working very hard in their defensive duties," he enthused after
seeing his side consolidate their eighth place in the table.
The point was also secured without defensive lynchpin Brede Hangeland, who
missed the trip to White Hart Lane with a bout of flu.
The Norway international could return on Sunday with Hodgson happy to wait until
the 11th hour to assess his condition.
Elsewhere, midfielder Jimmy Bullard is a doubt with a dead leg picked up against
Spurs, but Zoltan Gera (calf), Andranik Teymourian (knee) and Diomansy Kamara
(knee) all remain sidelined.
Chelsea make the short trip across west London looking to keep the pressure on
league leaders Liverpool.
Their 2-0 Boxing Day win over beleaguered West Bromwich Albion kept them just
one point behind the Reds, but also ended a below-par run of home results which
had seen them fail to win a domestic match at Stamford Bridge since November 1.
Didier Drogba made a welcome return to the goalscoring charts with a third
minute opener against the Baggies, while Frank Lampard's 45th minute second
completed a comfortable victory.
"It's lovely to have Didier coming back to form because he is an exceptional
centre-forward that we love to have in the squad," said assistant first-team
coach Ray Wilkins.
"We are thrilled when anybody gets back to full fitness and now the squad is
becoming fuller than it has been this year.
"Ricardo Carvalho is nearing fitness as well and is another we can have the
squad, so it's delightful to have so many top players to call upon."
But while Chelsea's home form has been a cause for concern, away from Stamford
Bridge they are showing title-winning form.
They have won eight and drawn one of their away games in the league so far and
would appear capable of coping without captain John Terry, who remains
suspended.
Michael Essien (knee) and Carvalho (knee) are also both still unavailable to
manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.