Match Preview
Fulham vrs Chelsea
Premier League Match Day 07 23/24 at Craven Cottage
Monday 2nd October 2023 KO: 20:00
Referee:
Tim Robinson (West Sussex)
Live on SkySports
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Monday night's Premier League offering comes in the shape of a West London derby, as Fulham welcome fellow bottom-half strugglers Chelsea to Craven Cottage.
Both teams achieved one-goal wins in their third-round EFL Cup ties in midweek, as the Cottagers overcame Norwich City 2-1, while the Blues bested Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0.
Stringing a respectable set of results together heading into the hectic autumn schedule, Fulham welcomed Norwich back to Premier League territory for their EFL Cup showdown in midweek, where Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi propelled the Cottagers into the last 16.
Borja Sainz's response with 15 minutes left to go proved nothing more than a mere consolation for the Canaries, as Marco Silva's men stretched their unbeaten run in all tournaments to three matches and set up another tie with Championship opposition; Ipswich Town await in round four.
The hosts' success over Norwich came four days after a drab goalless draw with fellow capital outfit Crystal Palace, which saw Silva's troops enter the weekend occupying 11th place in the table - a position they will hold before Nottingham Forest and Brentford do battle on Sunday.
By avoiding an EFL Cup upset, Fulham head into Monday's tantalising derby having only lost one of their last six matches in all tournaments - and few can knock them for going down to treble winners Manchester City at the Etihad - and a third Premier League clean sheet in succession could be on the menu here.
Shutting out Luton Town on September 16 saw Fulham end an eight-game run without a Premier League clean sheet at Craven Cottage, and while they have failed to win each of their last nine London derbies in the top flight, there are no prizes for guessing who their most recent capital triumph came against.
As was the case in August, Chelsea restored a small slice of pride in the EFL Cup amid another disheartening spell of Premier League football, keeping Brighton at bay at Stamford Bridge and belatedly picking up their first win of the month thanks to Nicolas Jackson.
Also snapping the Blues' miserable three-game streak without making the net bulge, the Senegalese striker - whose early Premier League exploits have left a lot to be desired - calmly side-footed home into the bottom corner to set up a fourth-round encounter with Blackburn Rovers.
Narrow victories in the cup are all well and good, but Mauricio Pochettino's expensively-assembled squad make the short journey to Craven Cottage without a win or indeed a goal - despite their favourable xG statistics - in each of their last three Premier League fixtures, succumbing to an Ollie Watkins strike against Aston Villa last weekend.
With just a 3-0 humbling of Luton Town to boast about from their last 10 top-flight games, Chelsea are treading close to danger in 15th place, and a mere five points from six games marks their worst start to a new term since the 1978-79 season, where they finished bottom of the pile and were relegated to the Second Division.
Before the start of last season, Fulham had failed to beat Chelsea in 21 successive contests, but the Cottagers broke that streak with a 2-1 triumph at home before coming away from Stamford Bridge with a point to their name from a 0-0 draw; a similar story to the latter could be on the cards here, as all three meetings between the local rivals to take place on a Monday have ended all square.
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Fulham won the most recent encounter 2-1 at Craven Cottage on 12 January, although that was only their second victory in 32 Premier League meetings.
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Chelsea have had a player sent off in both of their Premier League defeats against the Cottagers: Joao Felix last season and William Gallas during a 1-0 loss in March 2006.
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All three of the Premier League fixtures between the sides on a Monday have ended in a draw.
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Fulham are winless in nine consecutive Premier League London derbies since beating Chelsea in January (D4, L5).
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Their last seven league goals have been scored by seven different players, including all five this season.
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Marco Silva is one short of 50 Premier League wins as a manager (D28, L62).
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Andreas Pereira is one shy of 200 career league appearances.
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The Blues have taken five points from six games, their worst start to a top-flight season since 1978-79, when they went on to be relegated.
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Chelsea have failed to score in 13 Premier League matches in 2023, more than any other side, and their highest total in a calendar year since 1995.
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They have won just two of their past 18 league fixtures, taking 12 points.
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Mauricio Pochettino's side rank sixth for expected goals prior to the latest round of Premier League fixtures, but have the competition's second lowest shot conversion rate (5.5%).
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Pochettino is winless in 14 consecutive Premier League away games as a manager since guiding Tottenham to a 2-1 victory at Fulham in January 2019 (D4, L10).
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Raheem Sterling could make his 300th Premier League start.
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Source Ben Knapton at SportsMole/BBCSports