Fulham vs Chelsea preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Fulham will hope to continue their impressive form against the Premier League’s top six when they host London rivals Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Sunday, 20th April.

Chelsea ended the midweek set of fixtures in fourth position, with a top-five finish now looking likely to guarantee them a spot in the Champions League, especially after Arsenal triumphed 3-0 over Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final.

Enzo Marseca’s squad cannot afford to lose any more points as the season draws to a close, especially with Newcastle United matching Chelsea’s 53 points in fifth place while Manchester City (52) and Aston Villa (51) are closely trailing in sixth and seventh spots, respectively.

While they celebrated a fifth straight home win against Tottenham Hotspur last week, Chelsea have struggled to extend that form away from home. Since their thrilling 4-3 victory over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December, Chelsea have secured just two points from their previous seven away games.

The Blues have lost four of their last five Premier League away fixtures. They only avoided a fifth consecutive loss when they drew 0-0 against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium last Sunday so fans with Chelsea tickets are starting to worry.

Chelsea made several changes but couldn’t find their rhythm, leaving their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League in jeopardy after the draw against the Bees.

This latest setback on the road means Chelsea have gone eight Premier League away matches without a win, while Brentford continue to struggle at home, failing to secure a victory in their last eight top-flight games.

Despite their ongoing difficulties away from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will still be hopeful of securing a positive result when they visit Fulham at Craven Cottage later this month.

Fulham find themselves in an intriguing situation. They returned from the March international break in ninth place, just seven points behind the top four.

Should fifth place suffice for securing Champions League qualification, the Cottagers are only six points off that target. Their victory over Liverpool last weekend pushed them up to eighth with 48 points. The race for European spots is tight, but the Cottagers are in strong form, having won four of their last six matches before the international break, with two losses in that stretch.

However, inconsistency at home has hindered their pursuit of continental football. They’ve alternated between wins and losses in their last six games at Craven Cottage across all competitions. They’ve yet to achieve back-to-back Premier League victories on their turf this season.

Under Marco Silva, Fulham have earned 14 points from nine matches against current top-six clubs, averaging 1.56 points per game, ranking joint third in the Premier League for this metric.

They still have three potential games left against top-six sides this season, including fixtures against Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Chelsea on the 20th. With their strong record against the league’s best this term, they will surely feel confident about adding more points to their tally.

With 48 points from 31 games, Fulham are just five points shy of equalling their best-ever top-flight points total of 53, set in 2008-09. They also remain hopeful of matching their highest-ever league finish of seventh from that same season, sitting in eighth place with seven games to go.

Despite losing three of their last five games across all competitions, Fulham were able to claim a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Liverpool. Moreover, they have only been beaten twice in their last 10 Premier League home games, providing them with the confidence needed to complete a rare double over their local rivals potentially.

Fulham vs Chelsea match details

• Date: Sunday, 20th April, 2025
• Location: London, England
• Venue: Craven Cottage
• Kick-off time: 02:00 PM GMT
• Tickets: Fulham vs Chelsea tickets can be purchased from the clubs or through a trusted reseller like Seatsnet.com

Match stats and head-to-head

• Rodrigo Muniz has been in stellar form for Fulham, scoring in their last three Premier League matches. The Brazilian forward also delivered a dramatic last-minute winner when the teams last met at Stamford Bridge in December.

• This matchup sees the teams with the most yellow cards in the Premier League this season. With 87 yellow cards, Chelsea lead the league in bookings, while Fulham’s Sasa Lukic has received 12 yellow cards – the most of any player in the competition this season.

• Marco Silva’s side extended their points tally against teams starting the day in the top six to 21 points following their victory over Liverpool last Sunday, making them the league’s most successful team in this regard for the 2024-25 season (excluding matches played on Matchday 1).

• Fulham’s only defeats against top-six teams this term have come at the hands of Manchester City away, Arsenal away, and Aston Villa at home. They have managed victories over Newcastle United, home and away, even when Eddie Howe’s side was placed no lower than sixth.

• Cole Palmer scored his 26th Premier League goal of 2024 in the 2-1 loss to Fulham, setting a new record for the most goals ever scored by a Chelsea player in a calendar year in the competition.

• Muniz’s 95th-minute strike in Fulham’s win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was the latest winning goal against Chelsea in Premier League history, surpassing Pedro Neto’s last-minute goal for Wolverhampton Wanderers in December 2020. It also marked the first time Chelsea had conceded a 90th-minute winner at home in the Premier League since February 2003, when David Dunn scored for Blackburn Rovers.

Team news

For Fulham, it remains essentially unchanged, as they might have Kenny Tete (knee) available again, though they are still without Harry Wilson (foot) and Reiss Nelson (thigh). Nelson, who is recovering from his injury, has returned to his parent club, Arsenal, for further treatment. Marco Silva had tried a three-person defence at the Emirates. Still, after it proved ineffective, he is expected to revert to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation for this match despite the formidable nature of the opposition. Both Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon have put themselves in contention for a starting spot after their goal-scoring combination in midweek.

Maresca has confirmed new injury setbacks for defender Wesley Fofana and midfielder Romeo Lavia on the Chelsea side. Both players have picked up muscle injuries, with Lavia expected to return to action before Fofana. Omari Kellyman is ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring injury. Mykhaylo Mudryk is serving a provisional suspension after testing positive for a banned substance late in 2024. Reece James is likely to return to the starting lineup after only being used in the final stages of the win over Tottenham, and there could also be a starting spot for Noni Madueke, who made his return from injury on Thursday.

Predicted starting lineup

Fulham predicted starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Traore, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz

Chelsea predicted starting lineup:

Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson

Prediction

With just seven matches remaining, Fulham is still vying for a spot in the Champions League, and fifth place could be enough to secure qualification.

While Newcastle and Manchester City have games in hand, it remains a distant hope for Fulham. However, if they can replicate the level of performance they displayed against Liverpool for the rest of the season, qualifying for Europe’s elite competition is not entirely out of reach.

If that dream falls short, securing a spot in the Europa League or Conference League would still represent a solid achievement.

On the other hand, Chelsea are struggling to maintain a consistent run in the league, unable to replicate the early momentum they enjoyed under Maresca. After their win against Tottenham, they were held to a draw in another London derby, this time against Brentford.

That said, their dominant second-half performance against Legia Warsaw in the UEFA Conference League should provide a much-needed morale boost. The Blues will be keen to let go of their caution and go all out when they face a solid Fulham side later this month.

We’re predicting a 3-1 win for Chelsea.