Chelsea take the short trip across west London on Sunday to take on Premier League strugglers Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Cottagers come into the game under the stewardship of caretaker manager Scott Parker, after the club decided to sack Claudio Ranieri on Thursday after just three months at the club. A 2-0 defeat against Southampton on Wednesday proved to be the final straw for the Italian.
Fulham Football Club Chairman Shahid Khan today named Scott Parker as Caretaker Manager, replacing Claudio Ranieri.
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) February 28, 2019
https://t.co/cxx8utJdUy pic.twitter.com/3sikRtiH3I
The Blues, on the other hand, saw their chase for Champions League qualification receive a huge boost on Wednesday, as they defeated Tottenham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a Pedro strike and a comical Kieran Trippier own goal.
Here is 90min's preview of Sunday's London derby.
Where to Watch
| When Is Kick Off? | Sunday 3 March |
| What Time Is Kick Off? | 14:05 (BST) |
| Where Is it Played? | Craven Cottage |
| TV Channel/Live Stream? | Sky Sports Premier League |
| Referee? | Graham Scott |
Team News
There has
Predicted Lineups
| Fulham | Rico; Odoi, Ream, Nordtveit; Christie, Cairney, Chambers, Seri, Bryan; Babel, Mitrovic. |
| Chelsea | Caballero; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso; Jorginho, Kante, Barkley; Pedro, Higuain, Hazard. |
Head to Head Record
Despite their being 84 fixtures between Fulham and Chelsea, with the first dating back to 1910, the Cottagers have only managed 11 victories, with Chelsea dominating with 47 wins and unbeaten in their last 18 games against Fulham.
Fulham's last success against their local rivals came 13 years ago, as they edged a tight affair at Craven Cottage to defeat Jose Mourinho's team 1-0, the crucial goal coming from Luis Boa Morte.
Such were the emotions of the historic victory in west London,
Recent Form
Four defeats in Fulham's last four games triggered the club's board to sack their second manager of the season, dismissing Ranieri after the Italian failed to spark a revival at the club during his three month tenure.
Worryingly for the Cottagers, since beating Brighton 4-2 at Craven Cottage in January, they have scored one goal and conceded ten, form which will not see the Cottagers trouble the teams directly above them in the bottom half of the Premier League table anytime soon.
Chelsea eased the woes of their Carabao Cup final disappointment with a huge 2-0 win against Spurs at Stamford Bridge, putting the club's challenge for Champions League qualification back on track after their crushing 6-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The victory also helped to silence some of the discussions surrounding the authority of manager Maurizio Sarri and the harmony within the squad, with the Italian's tactics smothering Tottenham as Mauricio Pochettino's side failed to register a single shot on target.
Here's how each side has fared in their last five fixtures.
| Fulham | Chelsea |
| Southampton 2-0 Fulham (27/2) | Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham (27/2) |
| West Ham 3-1 Fulham (22/2) | Chelsea 0-0 Manchester City* (24/2) |
| Fulham 0-3 Manchester United (09/2) | Chelsea 3-0 Malmo (21/2) |
| Crystal Palace 2-0 Fulham (02/2) | Chelsea 0-2 Man Utd (18/2) |
| Fulham 4-2 Brighton (29/1) |
Malmo 1-2 Chelsea (14/2) |
Prediction
Form and history are both wildly in Chelsea's favour and, while Fulham could use a huge victory against a top Premier League club to spark a miraculous run towards survival, they are not going to get it here.
Chelsea will not have it easy, but quality will shine through as Fulham's defence will routinely unravel and cost them yet again.
Prediction: Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
Source : 90min