Chelsea make a short trip across West London to Craven Cottage for a Premier League clash with Fulham on Wednesday night.
Fulham secured a last-minute leveller to clinch a 2-2 stalemate with Liverpool last time out.
Interim coach Calum McFarlane took charge of [the Blues’ 1-1 draw at Manchester City](https://thesportstoday.com/2026/01/04/city-dealt-with-a-title-blow-against-managerless-chelsea/) on Sunday.
Chelsea [announced](https://thesportstoday.com/2026/01/06/chelsea-appoints-liam-rosenior-as-new-head-coach/) the appointment of Liam Rosenior as their new head coach today, who replaced Enzo Maresca. However, the Englishman will not be in the dugout for this derby, as McFarlane will take charge.
**Match preview**
Four of Fulham’s last five matches with Chelsea have ended in defeat (W1 L4), including August’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have won just one of their last eight Premier League games (D5 L2), failing to win any of their last four (D3 L1) and drawing their last two.
And since the end of Matchday 15 in early December, only Arsenal (15) and Aston Villa (12) have earned more points in the competition than Fulham’s 11.
The Blues last drew three Premier League games on the spin in February 2023, a run which included a 0-0 stalemate with Fulham.
When Fulham returned to the Premier League in 2022, they had won just one of their 30 matches against Chelsea in the competition (D10 L19).
Chelsea have won six of their last seven Premier League games at Craven Cottage, with the exception being a 2-1 defeat there in January 2023.
The Cottagers have lost four of their last six London derbies at home overall (W2), having previously gone unbeaten in seven such games. They could lose three straight home matches against fellow capital clubs for the first time since April 2023.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League London derbies (W5 D4) since a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal last March. The Blues last enjoyed a longer run of unbeaten matches against fellow London clubs from January 2013 to March 2014 (13).
Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández is looking to score in three consecutive Premier League matches for the very first time. Bruno Guimarães (7) is the only central midfielder to outscore Fernández this campaign, with the Argentine already matching his previous best tally in a Premier League season (6).
**Team news**
**Fulham**
Rodrigo Muniz, Kenny Tete, Joshua King and Ryan Sessegnon are sidelined with injuries.
While Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are away with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.
**Chelsea**
Moises Caicedo is back from suspension after serving his one-match ban against City.
Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana remain a doubt after they missed Sunday’s contest at the Etihad.
Long-term absentees Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo are unavailable for the visitors.
**Predicted line-ups**
**Fulham**: Bernd Leno, Jorge Cuenca, Joachim Andersen, Issa Diop, Antonee Robinson, Tom Cairney, Saša Lukić, Timothy Castagne, Emile Smith Rowe, Harry Wilson, Raúl Jiménez.
**Chelsea**: Filip Jörgensen, Malo Gusto, Benoît Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Josh Acheampong, Enzo Fernández, Reece James, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Estêvão, João Pedro.