Aug 28, 2025, 01:03 AM
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Chelsea haven't ventured outside London in the Premier League so far and that continues as they host Fulham in their third game of the season on Saturday.
Enzo Maresca's side brought up their first victory of the season in their previous game against West Ham, with 18-year-old Estêvão playing a starring role in a 5-1 win.
The scoreline was slight vindication for Maresca, especially since Cole Palmer was ruled out with a groin injury suffered during the warm-up at the London Stadium. Chelsea's goal threat was in keeping with their ambitions for the season, a big improvement from their goalless draw against Crystal Palace in the opening weekend.
While their London rivals have had a full week's rest coming into this fixture, Fulham were in Carabao Cup action against Bristol City on Wednesday, racking up a comfortable 2-0 win that saw Marco Silva's side drawn with Cambridge in the third round (Chelsea face a trip to Lincoln City).
Fulham were impressive in their 1-1 draw against Manchester United last weekend, although they've yet to taste victory in the Premier League this season, having also drawn their season opener against Brighton.
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Fulham did win in their last trip to Stamford Bridge, with Rodrigo Muniz scoring a late winner, but Chelsea responded in a similar vein in the most recent meeting between the clubs -- Pedro Neto netted a late goal in a 2-1 win.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on Sky Sports in the U.K., NBC in the United States, Stan Sport in Australia, and JioHotstar in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Saturday, August 30, 12.30 p.m. BST (7.30 a.m. ET; 5 p.m. IST and 9.30 p.m. AEST).
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London.
Referee: Rob Jones
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Team news:
Chelsea
Cole Palmer, M: groin, doubt
Omari Kellyman, M: hamstring, doubt
Benoit Badiashile, D: leg, OUT, est. return mid-Sep
Levi Colwill, D: ACL, OUT, est. late-Apr
Romeo Lavia, M: strain, OUT est. return mid-Sep
Fulham
Marco Silva has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Expected Lineups:
Chelsea
GK:Robert Sánchez
RB:Malo Gusto | CB:Wesley Fofana | CB:Tosin Adarabioyo | LB:Marc Cucurella
CM:Moisés Caicedo | CM:Enzo Fernández
RW:Estêvão | CAM: João Pedro | LW:Pedro Neto
CF:Liam Delap
Fulham
GK: Bernd Leno
RB: Kenny Tete | CB: Joachim Andersen | CB : Calvin Bassey | LB: Antonee Robinson
CM: Sander Berge | CM: Sasa Lukic
RW: Harry Wilson | AM: Josh King | LW: Alex Iwobi
CF:Rodrigo Muniz
Stats:
Fulham have never won consecutive games at Stamford Bridge in their history, having ended a 21-game winless streak in all competitions in their last trip.
Chelsea have lost only three of 36 Premier League games against Fulham.
Raul Jimenez could become the first Mexican player to make 200 Premier League appearances should he feature.
Estevao became the youngest Chelsea player in the club's history to make an assist in the Premier League.
Joao Pedro could join Diego Costa, Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham as the only Chelsea players to score five or more goals in their first five Premier League appearances for the club.
Latest news and analysis:
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