Fulham vs Chelsea
All roads lead to Craven Cottage on Wednesday for a fascinating London derby, when Premier League: Fulham vs Chelsea is the entertainment on offer at the most picturesque ground in England.
While the view of the River Thames is beautiful, there will be no niceties on the pitch when the Cottagers host the Blues, particularly after Chelsea took the spoils when they last met, in hugely controversial circumstances.
More of that later; but the big pre-match Fulham vs Chelsea 2026 news is the Blues parting company with manager Enzo Maresca on New Years Day, the man who delivered two trophies in his first season in the Stamford Bridge hot seat. Interim boss Calum McFarlane could hardly have had a better day on Sunday as Chelsea held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile the Cottagers hosted Liverpool on Sunday and they too earned a well deserved point as Harrison Reed scored a thunderous equaliser deep into stoppage time; and both teams will come into this clash in high spirits. It promises to be a captivating bout, so let’s take a look at the two camps, and the stats which will help us to make a call.
Talking Points
Wilson leads the Fulham charge
After a slow start to the campaign MarcoSilva’s men have clicked nicely into gear since the start of December and, currently in 11th place in the league table, the Cottagers have their sights set on a top half spot. One of the success stories has been attacking midfielder Harry Wilson, who has cast off his image as a super-sub and is Fulham’s top scorer with six goals and four assists. The Wales star scored a superb opener in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, taking a flick on from Raul Jimenez, breaching the offside trap and firing a brilliant finish into the bottom right corner.
The Reds came roaring back and thought they had won it when Cody Gakpo bundled the ball over the line deep into stoppage time but, with only his second touch of the game midfielder Reed sent an unstoppable howitzer flying into the top right corner, which was no more than the Cottagers deserved. “Losing it was going to be completely unfair,” said Silva after the final whistle. “We deserved to be ahead at half time. We conceded a weird equaliser, we should have reacted differently but it boosted their confidence.”
But Reed came up trumps and Silva’s men got their just reward.
The Fulham vs Chelsea 2026 betting odds edge towards the visitors, but the hosts are on a good run, and a home win would actually draw them level with the Blues on 31 points.
When will the Blues’ new man arrive?
It looks like Chelsea are moving quickly to appoint a replacement for Maresca and Strasbourg head coach Liam Rosenior appears to be closing in on the role after leading the Ligue 1 side to seventh place last term. McFarlane is in charge for now; he was told he’d lead the team for the Manchester City game and a new manager may arrive on Monday but, at the time of writing, there is no news and so the interim man might still be in the dugout on Wednesday.
While the Cottagers can climb up alongside the Blues with a win, if the visitors take all three points they can overtake fourth placed Liverpool before the Reds visit league leaders Arsenal on Thursday. And they certainly have plenty of talent in their ranks.
Enzo Fernandez’s last gasp leveller against Manchester City was a scruffy goal but what a moment for the team and their caretaker as the Chelsea front line overloaded the Sky Blue defence, and it was no surprise when they nicked an invaluable point. The return of Cole Palmer and club skipper Reece James has been a boost to the team and is very timely for the new man…when he arrives.
History
The Blues have totally dominated this relationship in modern times with 25 wins from 40 encounters while there have been 12 draws and the Cottagers have eked out just three victories. At Craven Cottage it tells the same story with 12 Chelsea wins to Fulham’s two and there have been five draws.
Silva’s men will be on the hunt for some revenge on Wednesday after they were victims of a VAR enabled robbery when they met at Stamford Bridge in August. Chelsea won 2-0 but only after a goal from Josh King had been bizarrely ruled out and the Blues were later awarded a soft penalty.
In terms of recent form the Cottagers are pretty hot, with three wins, two draws and one defeat from the last six outings while the Blues have been a little cooler, with two victories, three draws and a defeat in all competitions.
Betting Tip
Fulham are priced at 3.35 to win this derby with Chelsea the SBOTOP favourites at 2.05 and the draw is at 3.50.
The hosts are in good shape and will push Chelsea to the limit and I can see goals in this game. Seven of the last 12 matches involving these two sides have yielded over 2.50 goals, and that is what I expect to see on Wednesday.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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