Preview: Fulham vs. Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

The Blues enter the contest on the back of a 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, while the hosts went down 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

Match preview

Few defences have been able to quell the goalscoring juggernaut that is Aleksandar Mitrovic, but the Serbian's stunning effort against Tottenham was in vain last weekend as Fulham lost 2-1 to their London rivals.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane had made the net ripple for the Lilywhites before Mitrovic found the top corner with aplomb, but away days continued to bedevil the Cottagers, who have still proven to be a tough nut to crack so far this term.

A tally of eight points from their opening six fixtures is enough to see Fulham occupy a top-half place in the table - 10th more specifically - and their only two league defeats this season have come by just the one goal against Arsenal and Tottenham.

While the Cottagers have struggled to stamp their authority on rival turf, home is where the heart is for Silva and co, as they could win three Premier League games in a row at Craven Cottage for the first time in a decade with victory over an unstable Chelsea.

The Mitrovic-inspired hosts have also struck at least two goals in each of their three home games this season - albeit while failing to keep a clean sheet - but the trusty new manager bounce could come into play for those in blue.

Thomas Tuchel remained loyal to Chelsea even when their existence was being questioned at one stage, but shades of Roman Abramovich were unearthed when Todd Boehly gave the green light to the German's departure on Wednesday morning.

Tuchel had been given free rein to mould the squad as he pleased following the exit of sporting director Marina Granovskaia, but a £250m summer outlay could not save Chelsea from an underwhelming start to the season, which reached a low ebb on Tuesday.

Mislav Orsic struck the winner for Dinamo Zagreb in what proved to be Tuchel's 100th and final game in charge of Chelsea, who are reportedly on the brink of appointing Brighton & Hove Albion's Graham Potter to take the poisoned chalice.

While Chelsea followed a pattern of losing one and then winning one in Tuchel's final days, the defeat to Dinamo Zagreb marked a third straight away loss for the West London club in all tournaments, and their exhaustive defensive spending has only led to a five-game run without a Premier League clean sheet.

Potter's arrival is expected to be confirmed before the Craven Cottage bout kicks off, but interim staff may still be tasked with taking charge of the West London derby, as sixth-placed Chelsea aim to kick off yet another new era with an eighth-straight win against Fulham.

Fulham Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

Chelsea Premier League form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Team News

Fulham lost left-back Antonee Robinson to an ankle sprain in the first half of their defeat to Tottenham, meaning that Kevin Mbabu - a right-back by trade - ought to fill in for Silva's side this weekend.

Attackers Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon remain out of contention with their respective knee injuries, but the Cottagers have no other fresh concerns, and the attacking reinforcements are lining up for their opportunities.

Carlos Vinicius is fighting an uphill battle to displace Mitrovic in the number nine spot, but Neeskens Kebano and Bobby Reid are now facing increased competition from Willian and Daniel James, the latter of whom will expect to be in with a good chance of starting here.

Similarly, Chelsea also have few concerns to worry about on the injury front and should only be without the luckless N'Golo Kante, whose thigh injury may not heal completely until after the international break.

While Potter can be expected to implement a Tuchel-like back three that made him so successful at Brighton, it remains to be seen how the interim staff will set up this Chelsea side, which should feature Edouard Mendy and Marc Cucurella in defence after the pair were benched in Zagreb.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's forgettable Chelsea debut ended after just 59 minutes on Tuesday, but the ex-Arsenal and Barcelona man should fend off Armando Broja to start upon his return to the Premier League.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Mbabu; Reed, Palhinha; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, James; Mitrovic

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Mendy; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Cucurella; Mount, Aubameyang, Sterling

We say: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea

Without being able to accurately predict how Chelsea will set themselves up for a fiery West London derby, a Fulham side who have that golden touch at home should have a glint in their eyes.

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