Chelsea travel to Fulham in a huge game in their bid to qualify for the Champions League.
The Blues have slipped to seventh in the Premier League table but a win would take them back into the top five.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW FULHAM VS CHELSEA LIVE!
The inconsistent Blues are in need of a victory against their local rivals after fan frustration grew further following a shock 2-1 home defeat by Legia Warsaw in the Conference League on Thursday night.
Though clear competition favourites Chelsea still progressed to the semi-finals 4-2 on aggregate after a comfortable 3-0 first-leg victory in Poland, the insipid performance and surprise result saw the team booed off the pitch as supporter anger towards Enzo Maresca continued to rise.
There has been a growing disconnect between fans and manager at Stamford Bridge over recent months largely focused on playing style, with Maresca doing himself no favours by partly blaming the “environment” created by fans for the 2-2 draw with all-but relegated Ipswich last weekend in which Chelsea went 2-0 down in the first half against a Championship-bound team who had beaten them at Portman Road.
That followed a goalless draw at Brentford as inconsistent Chelsea dropped to sixth in the hunt for a top-five finish and Champions League qualification for next season, and they could be as low as seventh by the time they kick off on Sunday with that blistering early-season form long in the rearview mirror amid ongoing goal droughts for the likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson.
Looking to pile more misery on the Blues are a Fulham team who went into the weekend sitting just three spots and six points behind them in ninth amid another fine season under Marco Silva, who will want to get back on track swiftly after a stunning home win over champions-elect Liverpool was followed by Monday night’s narrow loss at Bournemouth that saw them concede the winning goal inside the first minute.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Fulham vs Chelsea is scheduled for a 2pm BST kick-off on Sunday April 20, 2025.
The match will take place at Craven Cottage in west London.
Where to watch Fulham vs Chelsea
TV channel: Fulham vs Chelsea will not be shown live on television in the UK, having been pushed back a day from its original Saturday slot due to Chelsea’s ongoing involvement in the Conference League.
Read More
Free highlights: The Sky Sports app and YouTube channel will show highlights from the game, with Match of the Day 2 broadcasting on BBC One at 10:30pm BST on Sunday night.
Live blog: You can follow the match with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring expert analysis from Malik Ouzia at Craven Cottage.
Fulham vs Chelsea team news
Welsh winger Harry Wilson is back in team training and could be involved for Fulham this weekend after being ruled out since January following foot surgery.
Silva’s only known injury absentee now is Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson, who probably will not play again this season after undergoing a hamstring operation in February.
Chelsea remain without injured duo Wesley Fofana and Marc Guiu as well as youngster Omari Kellyman and the unavailable Mykhailo Mudryk, though Romeo Lavia is ready to return again but will have his minutes carefully managed in a similar vein to captain Reece James in a bid to avoid another fitness setback.
Latest comeback: Romeo Lavia is fit again for Chelsea, but will have his minutes carefully managed by Enzo Maresca
Chelsea FC via Getty Images
First-choice midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo will both return having been rested completely against Legia Warsaw, while Palmer and Jackson were both handed surprise starts on Thursday in a bid to end their respective goal droughts but were taken off in good time with one eye on this derby having each failed to find the net again.
Defenders Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah also played no part in the Conference League and will be expecting to come back in against Fulham, with Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke only used off the bench as Maresca faces a potential dilemma in attack with Jadon Sancho.
Fulham vs Chelsea prediction
This could well be another frustrating afternoon ahead for Chelsea, who have endured very mixed fortunes in London derbies of late with defeat by Arsenal followed by a win over Tottenham and drab draw at Brentford.
The simmering tension between manager and fans is providing an uncomfortable backdrop to their ongoing struggles and inconsistency, while they desperately need star man Palmer to snap that long run without a goal that dates all the way back to January 14.
You have to figure that their leading attackers will rediscover their shooting boots eventually, but if they don’t then a confident Fulham team will be poised to take full advantage having already beaten the likes of Liverpool and Spurs at home in recent weeks.
We anticipate a tense, low-scoring draw that deals another blow to Chelsea’s hopes of making the Champions League.
Draw, 1-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Rodrigo Muniz stunned Chelsea with a 96th-minute winning goal in a 2-1 triumph for Fulham at Stamford Bridge back on Boxing Day, after Palmer’s early opener had been cancelled out late by Wilson.
It was their first win at the home of their rivals for 45 years. Chelsea’s only other defeats at the hands of Fulham since 1979 came in 2006 and 2023.
Fulham wins: 13
Chelsea wins: 52
Draws: 27
Fulham vs Chelsea match odds
Fulham to win: 2/1
Chelsea to win: 13/10
Draw: 13/5
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
