Can Fulham defeat Chelsea in the West London Derby?
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Fulham go into the West London Derby in 19th place and with a new manager. Claudio Ranieri, who had improved Fulham’s results since taking over in November, was dismissed following their 2-0 loss to relegation rivals Southampton in midweek. Fulham are now 10 points from safety and look destined for the drop.
Ranieri won just three of 17 games, but the chips were always stacked against him. Fulham had obtained just one point from 24 when Ranieri took the job. Former club captain Scott Parker has been installed as Fulham manager for the remainder of the season.
With the Cottagers in chaos, Chelsea will be licking their lips. The Blues have come through their own crisis following last weekend’s Carabao Cup Final farce with goalkeeper Kepa. The Spanish shot-stopper refused to be substituted, undermining his manager, and leading to Chelsea’s penalty shootout loss.
Chelsea did blow away Tottenham 2-0 in midweek round of Premier League to rebound from the cup devastation as Kepa watched from the stands.
Chelsea are three points back of fourth place Arsenal in the race for the Champions League. The Blues could be level on points by the end of the weekend if results go their way. However, Arsenal’s superior goal difference would prevent Chelsea from overtaking them this week.
Manager Maurizio Sarri has had some of the pressure ease on him. But it may not be long until he his linked with an exit from the club once more. Willy Caballero took Kepa’s place in goal against Tottenham. There is a good chance Caballero will start once more on Sunday as Sarri regains power over his embarrassing goalkeeper Kepa.
Sarri will have a full squad to select from for the match and forward Eden Hazard should be ready to start. The Belgian played just 57 minutes against Tottenham before being removed due to fatigue. He had played all 120 minutes in the Carabao Cup Final.
Parker will be without Marcus Bettinelli and Alfie Mawson. However, he will have leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has tallied 10 goals this term, in the team. Fulham’s biggest issue this season has been defence. They have conceded the league’s most goals (63). Fourteen goals have been allowed by Fulham’s defence in their last six games.
Chelsea have not lost to Fulham any competition since 2006. The Blues are 18 games unbeaten against Fulham and 10 of those fixtures have ended in wins. Of those 18 matches, 13 have had over 1.5 goals scored.
Sunday’s match at Craven Cottage will end in another Chelsea victory. Like the games before it, there will be over 1.5 goals scored as the Blues romp to a win.
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