Boxing Day will bring us a west London derby when Fulham make the short trip to meet Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
There is more distance between these two sides in Premier League table than it is on a map. Chelsea are in second place, seven places ahead of their visitors, whose home at Craven Cottage is just over a mile away.
However, both teams find themselves in strong form. Indeed, no team has taken more points than Chelsea in their last five Premier League games, while Fulham are unbeaten in the same period after facing Tottenham. Arsenal and Liverpool.
Here's everything you need to know about the latest installment in this local rivalry.
Chelsea vs Fulham H2H Record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Chelsea |
Fulham |
|---|---|
|
Everton 0-0 Chelsea – 22/12/24 |
Fulham 0-0 Southampton – 22/12/24 |
|
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers – 19/12/24 |
Liverpool 2-2 Fulham – 14/12/24 |
|
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15/12/24 |
Fulham 1-1 Arsenal – 08/12/24 |
|
Astana 1-3 Chelsea – 12/12/24 |
Fulham 3-1 Brighton – 05/12/24 |
|
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea – 08/12/24 |
Tottenham 1-1 Fulham – 01/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
United States |
Peacock, SiriusXM FC |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Chelsea will welcome back left-back Marc Cucurella to the starting line-up after the Spaniard served his suspension, with Malo Gusto likely to return to the right side of defense and Axel Disasi potentially dropping to the bench.
Reece James is back in part-time training recently, but is still nowhere close to returning from his hamstring injury, meaning he will remain sidelined along with centre-back duo Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.
Romeo Lavia will hope to make the bench but will be without Mykhailo Mudryk, who is suspended after a positive doping test.
Chelsea predicted formation against Fulham (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Fulham will also welcome a big name from suspension as Andreas Pereira is free to start again at the top of the midfield.
Both Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic were injured last time out against Southampton and may not recover in time for this one. Kenny Tete, Harrison Reed and Reiss Nelson are all expected to miss out.
Fulham predicted formation against Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Smith Rowe; Wilson, Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Fulham have proved to be a tough test for the Premier League's elite of late and the Cottagers are likely to cause the same problems for Chelsea, who stalemate with Everton hints at a weakness against a stubborn defense.
Unlike Everton, however, Fulham have really been at it in their recent games, scoring once against Arsenal and conceding two against Liverpool. with ChelseaHis defense not at its best, there can be little joy for Marco Silva's side.
Expect a fierce clash between the two rivals who may be forced to settle for a share of the spoils.