Fulham vs Chelsea prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-10-01 19:00.
Fulham are eyeing back-to-back home victories against West London rivals Chelsea for the first time since 1977, having beaten the Blues 2-1 in January at Craven Cottage. Marco Silva’s men crowned a fine first season back in the Premier League (PL) by finishing above their neighbours in 2022/23 – and they again find themselves higher in the table after six games of the current campaign, three points clear of the beleaguered Blues.
Silva, whose side beat Norwich in Carabao Cup action in midweek, will be hoping his team show a more clinical edge than they have done so far this term, as only newly-promoted duo Luton and Burnley have scored fewer than Fulham in the PL heading into this round. Despite their lack of potency, the Cottagers have kept three PL clean sheets since the start of the season, a figure only matched by table-toppers Manchester City prior to this round of fixtures.
Chelsea, like Fulham, come into this clash off the back of a morale-boosting Carabao Cup result, but the win was especially needed for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Remarkably, Nicolas Jackson’s midweek strike against Brighton was their only goal in September, and secured just the team’s third victory this campaign, but they haven’t secured three points on their travels in their last four such outings (D1, L3).
Extending that winless away run on Monday night would mark their third straight winless H2H – their worst such run against Fulham since November 2012. The history books would suggest the prospects of that are slim given Chelsea have lost just two of the 32 meetings between the sides in the PL era (W19, D11), but with the Blues winless in their last 18 PL games against sides starting the day above them in the table (D5, L13), securing West London bragging rights certainly isn’t guaranteed.
Players to watch: Carlos VinĂcius scored the winner in the last home H2H and bagged the opener against Norwich last time out, improving his recent record to four goals in his last five starts. Raheem Sterling has scored Chelsea’s only brace of the season to date and has been on the winning side against Fulham in all his four previous starts against them, scoring twice and assisting once in those encounters.
Hot stat: Fulham haven’t conceded a goal in the opening 30 minutes of a match this season.