Table of Contents
The Blues have an opportunity to tighten their grip on a top-four spot on Saturday as they welcome cross-city rivals Fulham at home.
Chelsea were held by a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Scott Parker’s Fulham head to Stamford Bridge with an identical result against Arsenal last weekend.
With their 1-0 victory at West Ham last weekend, Chelsea took a big step towards Champions League football for next season. Thomas Tuchel’s men stand on fourth with 58 points and the Blues are in no position to relinquish their grip on the spot. However, they have not quite been able to fortify Stamford Bridge recently – having won just a single game out of their last four league outings at home and could only pull off a goalless draw with Brighton & Hove Albion a few days ago. But the Blues’ compact defensive unit has allowed just 31 goals all season, the second-best in the Premier League after Manchester City. So, as they enter the last few matches of the season the German manager can only hope that fatigue does not play a role for the next few weeks.
Time is running out for Fulham. Scott Parker’s side almost secured three points at the Emirates Stadium last week but the Gunners fought back and salvaged a 1-1 draw, leaving the Cottagers at seventeenth with seven points adrift of safety. After Josh Maja’s penalty in the 59th minute Fulham looked poised to bag three crucial points. But Eddie Nketiah’s late equalizer from the spot dented the visitor’s hopes of a great escape. Things at Craven Cottage already looked gloomy by December when Fulham won just two games from the first fifteen Premier League games. Two months later in February, they found themselves in a position to avoid relegation picking up some vital points on the road. But since then, they lost five of their seven league games and with just five games to play, nothing less than a win at Stamford Bridge will do.
Key Players
Mason Mount: The England international’s energy, work rate and off-the-ball positioning has helped him become a key figure in the Chelsea side. The 22-year-old has been performing consistently this term and has stepped up his game further after Thomas Tuchel took charge. Under his former boss Frank Lampard, Mount was used as a central midfielder but Tuchel reshaped the structure and put him as one of his three attacking players. As a result the Chelsea academy graduate’s form took off. He is Chelsea’s top scorer since January is expected to play a pivotal role for Gareth Southgate in the upcoming European Championships.
Ben Chilwell: After arriving from Leicester with a £50million price tag last summer, Ben Chilwell has quickly established himself as one of the first key players for the Blues. Briefly facing a spell on the sidelines during Thomas Tuchel’s primitive days, the 24-year-old has been the German coach’s first choice left-back for the most crucial phase of their season. Chilwell played a major role in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over London rivals West Ham last Saturday, assisting Timo Werner for the winner and now has seven assists and three goals this season.
Ademola Lookman: This former England under-21 international on loan from RB Leipzig has been one of Fulham’s untouchable players this season. The 23-year-old has contributed four goals and four assists from 29 appearances in the Premier League with 2.1 shots and 2.6 dribbles per game – a decent record given the Cottagers poor creativity in midfield. While his career looks bright, Lookman may consider returning to the English top-flight with a different outfit should Fulham go down.
Antonee Robinson: Left-back Antonee Robinson joined Fulham from Wigan last summer and has racked up 24 appearances in the league for Scott Parker’s side. The American has completed 40 successful dribbles so far this season along with 23 key passes while on the overlap and his defensive effort are also somewhat modest, completing 38 of the 46 tackles that he has attempted.
Prediction
Chelsea have won in each of their last six games against Fulham, keeping five clean sheets in five of their last seven encounters and are favourites once again for Saturday. The manager at this point would most likely field some fresh legs with the Champions League semi final against Real Madrid in mind. And with an almost fully-fit squad at his disposal, Tuchel can provide Marcos Alonso, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech, Reece James, Kai Havertz and Olivier Giroud a chance to feature in the local derby.
With just 15pts left to play for this season, Scott Parker and his men must milk every single opportunity that comes their way at Stamford Bridge. Although a defeat against Chelsea won’t relegate them but a win could certainly uplift the confidence they immediately require to fend off the relegation threats.
