Chelsea are without midfielder Deco and defender Ricardo Carvalho for the visit
of Fulham.
The pair are struggling to regain fitness following hamstring problems, while
Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are out for the season with knee ligament injuries.
Boss Guus Hiddink will again take the opportunity to rest some players against a
Fulham side chasing a place in next season's newly formed Europa League.
| Team |
Chelsea |
Fulham |
| Games Played |
34 |
34 |
| Goal Attempts |
| Goals |
56 |
34 |
| Ave Goals per game |
1.65 |
1.00 |
| Shots (excl blocked shots) |
507 |
326 |
| % Shots on Target |
44% |
40% |
| % Goals to Shots |
11% |
10% |
| Passing |
| Short Passes |
15,782 |
12,327 |
| Long Passes |
1,917 |
2,083 |
| Overall Pass Completion % |
84% |
75% |
| Crossing |
| Total Crosses |
848 |
705 |
| Cross Completion % |
25% |
23% |
| Defending |
| Goals Conceded |
20 |
28 |
| Ave goals conceded per game |
0.59 |
0.82 |
| Tackles |
689 |
746 |
| Tackles Won % |
75% |
74% |
| Blocks, Clearances & Interceptions |
1505 |
2194 |
| Discipline |
| Fouls |
421 |
405 |
| Yellow Cards |
48 |
35 |
| Red Cards |
3 |
1 |
| Tom Kell at SetantaSport - Opta Index |
"There might be one or two changes,'' confirmed Hiddink. "Regarding that, it's
not that we're going to decrease the quality of the players coming in.
"We have players on the bench with the quality to perform well. Maybe one or two
will start tomorrow. We take this game very seriously.
"Roy Hodgson is doing a tremendous job at Fulham. He's one of the older
managers, like me, who knows that the job is difficult.
"I respect the job he's doing. He's a man with a lot of experience and dignity.
"They've proved what can be achieved with a small squad for a prolonged
period.''
Fulham striker Andrew Johnson is unavailable for the trip due to the knee injury
he suffered in last weekend's 1-0 win over Stoke.
The former Everton striker has slight damage to knee ligaments, however, he is
expected to be fit in time for next weekend's visit of Aston Villa.
Bobby Zamora will start in Johnson's place after he was passed fit after
suffering a back spasm against the Potters and will partner Erik Nevland, who
scored last week's winner after replacing him, up front.
Simon Davies will miss the remainder of the season as he needs surgery on a foot
problem while Giles Barnes will miss the trip to Stamford Bridge with an
Achilles injury but the midfielder is expected to return to training next week.
Manager Roy Hodgson has found preparation for the clash difficult because he has
no idea which players Hiddink will select.
The match at Stamford Bridge is sandwiched between the two legs of Chelsea's
Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and although Hodgson has an
inkling Hiddink will want to rest players for Wednesday's crucial second leg, he
admits he does not know what to expect.
"There is a chance the Chelsea management will look at this game and not want
certain players to play three games in eight days and prioritise by giving
someone a rest,'' he said.
"But on the other hand Chelsea are still in with a very serious shout of winning
the Premier League.
"Manchester United still have some tough games and also are involved in
Champions League semi-finals so Chelsea could say, `We believe Manchester
United, with the injuries they have in their squad, will find it difficult to
deal with the situation and that's going to open the door for us. We cannot
afford to slip up in our last four Premier League games so we'll have to use our
best players'.
"Which of those two scenarios is the right one I have no idea.''