Happy hunting ground: Chelsea have a superb record against Fulham at Craven Cottage
Liam Rosenior will have a watching brief in the stands at Craven Cottage tonight as Chelsea make the short trip to face Fulham in a west London derby in the Premier League. Rosenior, a former Fulham player, was officially confirmed as the new Blues head coach on Tuesday after leaving Strasbourg to succeed Enzo Maresca, but isn’t taking the reins until tomorrow as he prepares for the FA Cup clash with Charlton.
Instead it will be a second and final game at the helm for interim boss Calum McFarlane, who guided Chelsea to an unlikely draw at Manchester City on Sunday thanks to a late equaliser from Enzo Fernandez. McFarlane has Moises Caicedo back from suspension this evening in a key boost and hopes that Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana will also be ready to return.
Fulham may fancy their chances of a very rare home win over their rivals, having been in strong form over recent months under Marco Silva and gone five league matches unbeaten after a dramatic last-gasp draw with Liverpool at the weekend. Follow Fulham vs Chelsea live below, with expert analysis from Standard Sport’s Dom Smith at Craven Cottage.
Fulham team news
Fulham remain without the trio of Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze, all of whom have progressed through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Morocco with Nigeria.
Kenny Tete, Rodrigo Muniz and Josh King - who saw a brilliant goal against Chelsea controversially disallowed at Stamford Bridge back in August - are out injured.
How to watch Fulham vs Chelsea
TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s west London derby will be televised live on Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 6pm GMT.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Fulham vs Chelsea live
Chelsea await the imminent start of yet another new era as they travel the short distance to Fulham tonight for a west London derby in the Premier League.
Following Enzo Maresca’s exit on New Year’s Day, Liam Rosenior was officially confirmed yesterday as their new head coach on a six-and-a-half year contract after leaving sister club Strasbourg.
However, he won’t take his first training session at Cobham until tomorrow ahead of a first game away at Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night, so will be watching from the stands this evening at a stadium he knows very well from his playing days.
Instead it’s a second and final match at the helm for usual Under-21s coach Calum McFarlane, Chelsea’s interim boss, who led them to a surprising draw at Manchester City on Sunday thanks to Enzo Fernandez’s late equaliser.
Chelsea have an excellent record away against Fulham, but the hosts have been in fine form under Marco Silva over recent months and had Harrison Reed’s last-gasp goal-of-the-season contender to thank for making it five unbeaten in the top-flight with a dramatic 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the weekend.
11th plays fifth in the league, with kick-off at the slightly earlier time of 7:30pm GMT.
Stick with us for match build-up, breaking team news and minute-by-minute game updates, including expert insight and analysis from Standard Sport’s Chelsea correspondent Dom Smith at Craven Cottage.