Fulham vs Chelsea
Premier League 2018-19
Venue: Craven Cottage
Date: Sunday, 3 March, 2019
Kick-off: 2:05pm GMT
With Maurizio Sarri having finally gained some respite in midweek, Chelsea will hope to take advantage of the current turmoil at Fulham when they make the short trip to Craven Cottage on Sunday.
After an improved showing in a losing effort in the EFL Cup final was overshadowed by the much-talked-about incident involving goalkeeper Kepa, the Blues - with their record signing demoted to the bench - took great pleasure in all but ending Tottenham's title hopes with a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
In addition to easing the pressure on their embattled manager, such a result also saw sixth-place Chelsea stay three points adrift of Arsenal and two behind Manchester United with a game in hand in the crowded race for a top-four finish.
West London rivals Fulham are in total disarray at the moment, with a dismal run of eight defeats in nine matches leading to the end of the short-lived reign of Claudio Ranieri after just 106 days.
Caretaker boss Scott Parker - who represented both clubs during his playing career - has an immensely difficult job on his hands, with last season's Championship play-off winners currently 19th and 10 points adrift of safety with just 10 matches left to play.
Fulham team news
Fulham remain without goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and centre-back Alfie Mawson, the latter of whom has started his rehabilitation following a knee injury.
Given Fulham's woeful recent form, it seems a good bet that Parker might be eager to make one or two changes to an underperforming team.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea are largely free of injury worries at present, while it remains to be seen if Kepa will return to the starting XI against Fulham or in next week's Europa League last-16 first-leg tie against Dynamo Kiev.
Deputy Willy Caballero kept a clean sheet against Spurs, but Sarri insists that Kepa remains his first-choice goalkeeper.
Score prediction: Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
Parker has preciously little time to knock Fulham into shape and try to lift morale ahead of this derby clash.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have raised their performance levels over the last couple of games and should be fully confident of securing another win to keep them in the thick of the battle for Champions League qualification.
Fulham vs Chelsea tickets
For ticket information click here to head to the Fulham website.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Fulham to win: 6/1
- Draw: 7/2
- Chelsea to win: 8/15
First goalscorer odds
- Eden Hazard: 7/2
- Gonzalo Higuain: 7/2
- Olivier Giroud: 9/2
- Pedro: 11/2
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 7/1
- Callum Hudson-Odoi: 7/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £7.99. Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
But you can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
These two rivals have met on 27 previous occasions in the Premier League, with Chelsea claiming 16 wins to Fulham's one (which came back in 2006). There have been 10 draws.
In December, a goal in each half from Pedro and Ruben Loftus-Cheek sealed a 2-0 victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
