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Fulham have won one of their last 23 against Chelsea as Pochettino seeks win

talksport.com, 13 January 2024, 11:35
Chelsea will bid to return to winning ways to alleviate the pressure on Mauricio Pochettino when they host Fulham in a west London derby this afternoon.

The Blues dismal season hit another low on Tuesday after they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Their neighbours Fulham were involved in the other first leg the following night and were unfortunate to lose 2-1 away to Liverpool.

The teams are sat three places and four points apart in the Premier League, with the Blues in tenth and the Cottagers 13th.

Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge to kick-off at 12:30pm

Live commentary: talkSPORT website stream HERE, via the app HERE

Match to be broadcast on TNT Sports 1

Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Broja

Subs: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Badiashile, Gilchrist, Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, Madueke, Mudryk, Washington

Fulham: Leno, Tete, Tosin, Diop, Robinson, Palhinha, Pereira, Cairney, Willian, Wilson, Jimenez

Subs: Rodak, Ream, Castagne, Reed, Lukic, De Cordova-Reid, Francois, Muniz, Vinicius

FOLLOW OUR LIVE MATCH BLOG BELOW FOR REGULAR UPDATES...

5 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Nearly go time

Just 15 minutes to go until kick-off here.

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7 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Chelsea vs Fulham: Pre-match facts

40.4% of Fulham's shots in the Premier League this season have come from outside the box (93/230), the highest share in the division. However, just one of their last 19 league goals has come from distance.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has won all five of his Premier League meetings with Fulham - only against Hull City (6/6) does he have a better 100% win rate in the competition.

Cole Palmer has scored eight Premier League goals this season, more than any other player for Chelsea. The only player to score more in a single campaign for the Blues in the competition while aged 21 or younger is Christian Pulisic in 2019-20 (9).

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14 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Warm-ups well underway

Both sets of players are now going through their pre-match routines.

The stadium is starting to slowly fill up, so we should be in for a great game and atmosphere.

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16 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

talkSPORT coverage

talkSPORT will have live and exclusive commentary of this match.

Faye Carruthers is your host and commentary will come from Sam Matterface and Martin Keown.

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20 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Chelsea vs Fulham: Pre-match facts

Chelsea have won their last two Premier League London derbies, as many as they had in their previous 13 such games (D4 L7). Meanwhile, Fulham are looking to win three consecutive top-flight London derbies for the first time since April 2013.

Chelsea have won both of their last two Premier League games, last winning three in a row in October 2022 (a run of 4). The Blues have also won their last three at Stamford Bridge in the competition, last winning four in succession on home soil in July 2020 (a run of 6).

Fulham have lost each of their last four Premier League away games while conceding 3+ goals in each; only two sides have lost five in a row on the road in the Premier League while shipping 3+ goals each time - Ipswich Town in April 1995 and Barnsley in November 1997.

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24 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Concern for Nkunku

Christopher Nkunku's Chelsea career couldn't have got off to a worse start.

The Frenchman picked up an injury in pre-season.

He finally made his debut in December and now has another problem, which is worrying Mauricio Pochettino.

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28 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Positive Palmer

Cole Palmer has undoubtedly been one of Chelsea's best players this season.

The England international endured a tough evening in midweek and stormed off the pitch at the end of the game.

But he's been excellent in the Premier League and will be looking to bounce back today.

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31 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Silva looks ahead to derby clash

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been previewing today's game against Chelsea with TNT Sports.

He said: "In the last 18 months, we have been breaking some very good records.

"This has been our recent story at Fulham, and hopefully, we can do it again this afternoon.

"The Chelsea match at home at the beginning of the season wasn't the best for us, but these type of games, we are there.

"I am confident we are going to win."

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35 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Chelsea vs Fulham: Pre-match facts

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 18 home league games against Fulham (W11 D7) since a 2-0 loss in the second tier in October 1979.

Fulham have won just one of their last 23 Premier League games against Chelsea (D8 L14), beating them 2-1 at Craven Cottage 366 days ago.

Fulham's 10% win rate against Chelsea (8 wins from 77 meetings) is the lowest of the 3,116 occasions of a side facing another at least 50 times in English league history.

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37 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Pochettino hoping for reaction

Chelsea boss Muaricio Pochettino hopes to see a response from his players today against Fulham after a disappointing display in midweek.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: "We know that we are going to face a very good side [today]. They played really well against Liverpool, so we need to adapt and we need to perform.

"The approach to the game is going to be different because it's a different competition."

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41 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Chelsea vs Fulham: Team news

Right, there is one change for Chelsea from their 1-0 defeat in midweek to Middlesbrough.

Armando Broja comes in for Noni Madueke.

But the big news is that Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka are both on the bench.

Chilwell tore his hamstring near the start of the season and has been out ever since, while just moments after scoring his first Chelsea goal, Chukwuemeka suffered a knee injury that has kept him out since August.

Meanwhile, Tom Cairney and Kenny Tete come in for Timothy Castagne and Harrison Reed.

Harry Wilson also replaces Bobby Decordova-Reid.

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44 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Chelsea vs Fulham

This is how we expect to see both sides line up.

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48 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Chelsea vs Fulham: Teams

The teams are in!

Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Broja.

Subs: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Badiashile, Gilchrist, Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, Madueke, Mudryk, Washington

Fulham: Leno, Tete, Tosin, Diop, Robinson, Palhinha, Pereira, Cairney, Willian, Wilson, Jimenez.

Subs: Rodak, Ream, Castagne, Reed, Lukic, De Cordova-Reid, Francois, Muniz, Vinicius.

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54 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Team news alert!

We will have the confirmed teams in less than five minutes.

Will there be any surprises?

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55 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

Stage is set

It's a relatively grey morning in west London.

And you can tell it's winter because it's freezing.

But Stamford Bridge is looking good and both sets of players have arrived and will be coming out for their warm-ups very soon.

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59 minutes agoBy Jack Cunningham

How things stand

Both sides come into this one stuck in midtable.

However, a Chelsea win would take them up to eighth above Manchester United and Newcastle.

Meanwhile, a Fulham victory would see the Cottagers take 12th and close the gap to Chelsea to just one point.

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Today, 11:19By Jack Cunningham

West London derby

Hello, and welcome to talkSPORT.com's live coverage of Chelsea's home clash against Fulham in the west London derby.

Both of these clubs are situated on the Thames, meaning it's a short trip for the Cottagers.

But it's a big game for both sides, with the hosts seeking a win to bounce back from their dreadful 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Meanwhile, Fulham also lost the first leg of their semi-final against Liverpool but turned in a credible display at Anfield to come away with a 2-1 defeat, so it's all set up to be a good one.

Let's get going.

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