Local pride is on the line at Craven Cottage on Monday but Fulham and Chelsea must also grapple with the more pressing matter of underwhelming starts to the Premier League season.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have won one of their six top-flight games, and any hopes that a 1-0 Carabao Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion can act as a catalyst must be tempered by the fact that their struggles in front of goal remain.
Marco Silva's Fulham, so impressive on their Premier League return last season, have faired slightly better with two wins, two draws and two defeats over their first half-dozen contests.
A 2-2 draw at Arsenal showed their prowess against heavyweight opposition, while a 5-1 thumping at Manchester City had the mitigating circumstances of a terrible offside call going against them.
A 3-0 loss to Brentford and a laboured 1-0 win against Luton means they are yet to really thrill their home faithful. Perhaps there's no time like the present and the prospect of once again turning over their glamorous west London neighbours who remain in an unprecedented period of transition.
MORE: Fulham vs Chelsea live score, updates, highlights, lineups, and result from the Premier League
Fulham vs Chelsea match facts
- Date: Monday, October 2, 2023
- Kickoff Time: 8:00 p.m. local (3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT)
- Location: Craven Cottage (London, England)
- Official: Tim Robinson
- Last meeting: Chelsea 0-0 Fulham (Feb. 3, 2023 | Premier League)
Fulham vs Chelsea prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Draw (+240)
- Score prediction: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea
Chelsea's reputation as one of the Premier League's traditional "big six" continues to inform their odds despite a wretched 2023 and they are clear favourites with the bookmakers to get the victory.
However, this is a side that has scored only five times in the Premier League so far in 2023/24. Fulham have the same record in front of goal and will hope to benefit from a makeshift Chelsea defence, where left-back Ben Chilwell is the latest player sidelined.
The Blues are in a strange place at the moment under Pochettino: playing well enough between the boxes to control matches, so you don't want to unthinkingly back against them, but short of cutting edge and composure in each penalty area. As such, the odds for a draw in a matchup where Fulham took four of the six points on offer last season feel most attractive.
| Fulham win | Draw | Chelsea win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 2.5 goals | FUL +0.5 | CHE -0.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) | +270 | +240 | +100 | -130 /-110 | -110 /-120 | -130 | -110 |
In Canada, bet Premier League at Sports Interaction: See latest odds for Fulham vs Chelsea here
Fulham vs Chelsea: best bet
- Pick: Cole Palmer to score or assist a goal
- Odds: +200 (FanDuel)
Chelsea haven't been short of shiny new things to unleash during the Todd Boehly era. If Cole Palmer gets his first Premier League start for the club, he will hope for a more positive experience than Joao Felix, whose debut at Craven Cottage last season ended with a red card.
Former Manchester City youngster Palmer impressed during the Carabao Cup win over Brighton, laying on Nicolas Jackson's winning goal. The 21-year-old could be a beneficiary of Jackson's suspension this week, with Pochettino very light in terms of attacking options.
When Palmer is involved, goals and assists tend not to be too far away. He scored in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup for City this season. His six goals and two assists in all competitions for Pep Guardiola's team came across a combined 1,482 minutes. That means a goal involvement every 185 minutes, a very useful return across a fitful sample size mostly made up of substitute cameos.
Palmer moved to Chelsea for a more prominent first-team role — expect him to grasp that when his opportunity arrives.
Fulham vs Chelsea prop bet
- Pick: No goals in the match
- Odds: +775 (BetMGM)
On the other hand, the fact we've selected a richly gifted but largely unproven youngster as our tipped goal threat might tell you everything you need to know about this game.
With six games played and five goals scored, Fulham and Chelsea have identical and undesirable outputs in front of goal in the Premier League. It means the Cottagers have eight points and the Blues are on five, just a couple above the bottom three.
The teams' respective plights mean a cagey encounter could unfold. Prior to the Brighton cup game, Chelsea had failed to score in three consecutive Premier League encounters.
Fulham have drawn a blank twice this term, including a goalless draw against Crystal Palace in another London derby last time out in league play. The battling 2-2 draw at Arsenal is the only time they have scored once in a top-flight game, with Aleksandar Mitrovic's departure leaving a considerable void.
Chelsea know all too well the perils of operating without an elite-level No.9. It's a common flaw that suggests a goal-fest is very unlikely to be on the cards.
Fulham vs Chelsea live stream, TV channel
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | USA Network, Universo | Fubo, NBC app/website |
| Canada | — |
