Chelsea head just up the road to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham in week 33 of Premier League action. The vibes are in the dumps at Chelsea as the Blues advanced to the UEFA Conference League semifinals but made history as the first English team to lose at home to Polish opposition.
Legia Warsaw were the better side on Thursday night as Chelsea were content to sit back and protect their two or three goal cushion in the tie. Pragmatically it was the right decision but the fans were upset and the optics of a 2-1 loss to inferior opposition has not helped the attitude towards Enzo Maresca.
This coming off the back of a disappointing draw to Ipswich Town has made the atmosphere around the club even more toxic and they may be happy to be playing anywhere other than Stamford Bridge at this point. Even if the trip is just up the road to face a dynamic Fulham side, at least it is in front of away fans that may galvanize the squad with their angry chants.
On the Fulham side, they are pushing for a potential European place as they sit in 9th on the table but just six points behind Chelsea who are in 6th. They missed on a golden opportunity to climb up the table with a win over Bournemouth in matchday 32 but were unable to overcome a one-goal deficit at Vitality Stadium.
Fulham is a dynamic side that has goals at every level but also give up a ton of goals as well. They have conceded 43 goals in 32 matches but do have a recent victory over presumptive champions Liverpool just two weeks ago on their resume. They also beat Chelsea 2-1 in December thanks to a dramatic late-winner from Rodrigo Muniz who has 3 goals in his last 4 matches.
In short, they won’t be pushovers and will be happy to push their local London rivals in blue even further to the brink. We don’t think anything at this point will get Enzo Maresca sacked before the end of the season but a humiliating loss here will not help his cause.
Chelsea team news:
OUT: Wesley Fofana (thigh - out for season), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Omari Kellyman (hamstring - out for season), Marc Guiu (thigh)
Fulham team news:
OUT: Reiss Nelson (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Harry Wilson (foot)
How to watch Fulham vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday (April 20)
Venue: Craven Cottage — London
TV Channel: USA, Telemundo (in the United States). Match will not be shown live in the UK but is available to follow on Chelsea’s official app.
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Fulham vs Chelsea prediction:
We feel like Chelsea will come out with some energy after being embarrassed on Thursday against Legia but the goals will still be hard to come by. This will lead to another draw that hurts Chelsea’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Fulham 1-1 Chelsea