The Blues and the Cottagers meet for the first West London Derby in five seasons at Stamford Bridge on Sunday
Chelsea will be hoping they can leapfrog Tottenham back into third when they host Fulham on Sunday.
The Blues suffered their first defeat of the season last time out in the Premier League when they lost 3-1 to Spurs, but Maurizio Sarri will hoping his side perform better in this week’s London derby.
As for the visitors, they won just their second Premier League game of the season last time out against Southampton , in Claudio Ranieiri’s first match as Fulham boss.
It will be a big day for the Italian who returns to his former side knowing three points would see his current employers move off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone.
| Game | Chelsea vs Fulham |
| Date | Sunday, December 2 |
| Time | 12pm GMT / 7am ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBCSN | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on Sky Sports Main Event and livestreamed on Sky GO Extra.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports | Sky GO Extra |
| Position | Chelseaa players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Arrizabalaga, Caballero, Green |
| Defenders | Rudiger, Alonso, Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Palmieri |
| Midfielders | Fabregas, Jorginho, Drinkwater, Kante, Barkley, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic |
| Forwards | Hazard, Pedro, Giroud, Willian, Morata |
Eden Hazard is a doubt heading into the game due to an ankle injury, but the Belgian is expected to named in Sarri’s starting XI.
The former Napoli coach made 10 changes for the midweek Europa League victory against PAOK , yet is expected to start with a similar side that lined-up against Tottenham last Saturday.
A number of spectators will be keeping a close eye on how Chelsea’s midfield operates after their difficulties in the Spurs game.
Jorginho was crowded out by Tottenham’s midfielders and there has been much subsequent debate about whether he and N’Golo Kante are being utilised effectively by Sarri .
Victor Moses is the only other injury concern heading into the game, and the 27-year-old looks likely to be ruled out with a back problem.
Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Giroud, Hazard.
| Position | Fulham players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Bettinelli, Rico, Fabri |
| Defenders | Odoi, Chambers, Ream, Le Marchand, Fosu-Mensah, Christie, Bryan, Mawson |
| Midfielders | Sessegnon, McDonald, Kebano, Johansen, Cairney, Seri, Anguissa, Cisse |
| Forwards | Mitrovic, Ayite, Schurrle, Vietto, Kamara |
Ranieri will once again be without Kevin McDonald and Andre-Frank Anguissa for the short trip to Stamford Bridge, with the 67-year-old having confirmed on Friday that the duo will miss the game.
“Frank trained with us today, but won’t be available. McDonald continues to train and is slowly getting better, but also won’t be available,” the Fulham boss said in his pre-match press conference.
Andre Schurrle also misses out against his former club, with Stefan Johansen replacing him.
Fulham XI: Rico; Christie, Odoi, Mawson, Le Marchand; Johansen, Chambers, Seri; Cairney, Sessegnon; Mitrovic
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Unsurprisingly, Chelsea are heavy favourites to win the game, and are priced at 2/11 by bet365 . An unlikely away win can be backed at 16/1, while a draw is 7/1.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
This is the most anticipated West London Derby for a long time, with Chelsea and Fulham fans having waited over four years to again lock horns.
The last time they met, the Blues won 3-1 thanks to a hat-trick from current Fulham man Andre Schurrle.
And it is a big day for the two Italians in the dugout at Stamford Bridge.
Much has been written and said about Sarri’s reliance on Jorginho in the middle of the park, following the defeat to Tottenham, and Sunday is perhaps the first test of whether his Chelsea side can find a way of playing without an over-reliance on their number five.
Sarri also knows he will face a tough test from the opposition manager on Sunday.
“Usually a team of Claudio’s is really very solid. They usually defend very well, sometimes low, but very well,” he said in Friday’s pre-match press conference .
It will an emotional afternoon for Ranieri, who has always retained a close bond with the Chelsea fans, despite not managing the club in 14 years.
However, now in charge of Fulham he may have to keep his pro-Chelsea sentiments in check.
Ranieri will be hopefully that Aleksandar Mitrovic can once again provide the firepower to help the Cottagers earn all three points.
After last weekend’s victory against Southampton, the Fulham boss claimed the 24-year-old was ‘ one of the best strikers in the world ’.
Mitrovic has netted seven goals this season and another on Sunday would see him become the Premier League’s joint-top scorer.