After a hectic ending to the January transfer window for Chelsea

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After a hectic ending to the January transfer window for Chelsea, they welcome Fulham to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Friday night. The Blues spent in excess of £300 million during the month, but need a mammoth turnaround to make the top four this season.

Away from their extraordinary exploits in the transfer market that saw them splurge a reported £288 million, Chelsea manager Graham Potter has had a 13-day gap between fixtures to get to work on the training field to try and steady the ship. A lifeless 0-0 draw with Liverpool in their last outing made it just two wins from seven matches since the restart (D2, L3), leaving the Blues ten points adrift of the Premier League (PL) top-four.

If Potter is to work his magic here, he’ll need to exercise some demons of his own, having never beaten Fulham in four personal H2H meetings (D2, L2), while also losing twice to their manager Marco Silva already this term (once when Brighton manager). One of those defeats was a 2-1 loss in January’s reverse fixture, although that represented a rare blip in Chelsea’s record in this West London derby’s history, as they’ve lost just two H2Hs since 1980 (W26, D13).

Fulham have become used to upsetting the odds this term though, and make the short journey across the capital looking to extend the two-point gap they currently hold over their rivals. A stellar first half of the campaign has earned them plenty of admirers, but progress has stalled of late, as they’ve failed to win their last three matches in all competitions (D1, L2).

Silva described his side as ‘too open’ in their 1-1 FA Cup draw with Sunderland last time out, but that’s not something they can be accused of too often this term, as only twice have they conceded more than two goals in a league game. That could help Fulham to another positive result here, as just one of the Cottagers’ eight PL defeats this term came against a side currently beneath them in the table.

Date: 03/02/2023
Time: 23:00
Venue: Stamford Bridge (London)
Pick for this match:
“1” – @ 1.67 ( BETWINNER )