Chelsea’s recent appointment of their next permanent manager has dominated pre-match discourse, but attention must return to events on the field when the Blues visit local rivals Fulham.
Liam Rosenior was named as Enzo Maresca’s long-term successor on Tuesday, although Calum McFarlane, the club’s Under-21s manager, will lead Chelsea out at Craven Cottage. The interim boss clinched an impressive 1–1 draw at Manchester City last weekend as Enzo Fernández struck late.
The result ensured that Chelsea kept pace with Liverpool and Manchester United in the race for Champions League qualification–they both stumbled to disappointing draws—and victory at Fulham would lift the Blues above Liverpool in fourth before the Reds visit Arsenal on Thursday.
Chelsea have won just two Premier League games since the November international break, however, and will be tested by the in-form Cottagers. Fulham’s weekend draw with Liverpool extended their unbeaten league run to five matches and ensured they remain just three points off their upcoming visitors.
Here’s Sports Illustrated’s preview of the west London derby.
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Fulham vs. Chelsea Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (All Competitions)
|
Fulham |
Chelsea |
|---|---|
|
Fulham 2–2 Liverpool – 04/01/26 |
Man City 1–1 Chelsea – 04/01/26 |
|
Crystal Palace 1–1 Fulham – 01/01/26 |
Chelsea 2–2 Bournemouth – 30/12/25 |
|
West Ham 0–1 Fulham – 27/12/25 |
Chelsea 1–2 Aston Villa – 27/12/25 |
|
Fulham 1–0 Nottingham Forest – 22/12/25 |
Newcastle 2–2 Chelsea – 20/12/25 |
|
Newcastle 2–1 Fulham – 17/12/25 |
Cardiff 1–3 Chelsea – 16/12/25 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Football, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
|
Mexico |
FOX One |
Nigeria’s progression to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations means Fulham trio Calvin Bassey, Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi are all still missing. The internationals are joined on the absentee list by the injured quartet of Josh King, Kenny Tete, Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Muniz.
Fulham opted for a three at the back system against Liverpool and it worked well in nullifying the reigning champions, with Marco Silva perhaps utilising the formation against Chelsea, too.
Fulham predicted lineup vs. Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Leno; Diop, Andersen, Cuenca; Castagne, Lukić, Cairney, Robinson; Wilson, Smith Rowe; Jiménez.
Chelsea have been without Marc Cucurella for their past two matches and will be desperate to have the Spaniard back available at left back. Wesley Fofana missed the Man City game through illness, as did Robert Sánchez with a minor muscle issue—both could return here.
Levi Colwill, Dário Essugo and Roméo Lavia are long-term absentees in the Chelsea squad, with Mykhailo Mudryk still nowhere to be seen after a doping issue.
Filip Jörgensen will start in place of Sánchez if the Spaniard misses out on Wednesday, while Malo Gusto and Benoît Badiashile are likely to replace Cucurella and Fofana respectively if they are sidelined again.
In better news, Moisés Caicedo returns from his one-match suspension.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Fulham (4-2-3-1): Jörgensen; James, Chalobah, Badiashile, Gusto; Caicedo, Fernández; Estêvão, Palmer, Neto; Pedro.
Chelsea showed resilience in uncertain circumstances at the Etihad Stadium but will be expected to offer more attacking invention at Fulham. With Rosenior having now been appointed, players will be keen to make a strong impression at Craven Cottage.
However, Chelsea have been in disappointing form and will be pushed hard by a Fulham side who are brimming with confidence—even without a host of key players. The form of Harry Wilson and Raúl Jiménez is difficult to ignore and the Cottagers will fancy their chances of stealing something from derby day.
