Fulham make the short trip to Stamford Bridge this lunchtime in good heart having taken two points from their first two Premier League fixtures and eased into the third round of the League Cup by beating Bristol City on Wednesday evening. Marco Silva’s side will face their near neighbours with no face this afternoon, either, as a consequence of winning at the Bridge last Boxing Day thanks to Rodrigo Muniz’s memorable winner in stoppage time. Chelsea have certainly improved since then, so repeating Fulham’s first success at the Bridge since 1979 won’t be easy.
Silva should at least have more resources at his disposal to take on the Blues than he did last Sunday when Manchester United came to Craven Cottage. Antonee Robinson, whose introduction might just have tilted that tight contest back towards the Whites, has had another week of training and could be ready to start at left back. Ryan Sessegnon, who has had his own injury problems over the past month, came through another outing against the Robins unscathed and there was good news too when it came to Harry Wilson, who got Fulham’s equaliser in this fixture last December. The Welshman was withdrawn as a precaution after holding his foot on Wednesday, but scans showed the problem was ‘nothing serious,’ according to Silva.
The Portuguese head coach is still hamstring by Fulham’s quietest transfer window in living memory but, aside from a few pointed comments in his press conferences, Silva is getting on with the job. He started with three centre backs to match Manchester United last weekend and could easily stick with that system to frustrate Chelsea – something that worked really well last season. It might be the best way to deal with Liam Delap, who scored home and away against the Whites for Ipswich Town last term. But that formation can leave the Whites more cautious in comparison to the 4-2-3-1, which has delivered some impressive away results of its own since Fulham returned to the top flight.
Whatever approach Silva adopts stopping Chelsea’s impressive wide men will be key. That means Kenny Tete and Robinson – if he is passed fit enough to start – will need to be at their very best to shackle Pedro Neto and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Fulham need little reminding of the former following his dramatic added-time winner at the Cottage last April, whilst the English summer signing has reprised his outstanding performances with Dortmund during his time in the blue of SW6 to date. Then there’s the threat of the latest young talent, Estêvão Willian, who led West Ham United such a merry dance last Friday night.
The Blues will be without Cole Palmer, who opened the scoring here last season, but Silva’s trusted midfield duo of Sasa Lukic – outstanding in the win on Boxing Day – and Sander Berge will need to win their individual duels in the engine room. The Norwegian has had a quiet start to the season but we’ve seen his capability with the Whites last season and in a number of outstanding performances for Burnley and Sheffield United before that. Fulham were able to pose problems for Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernadez last year by pushing them in the opposite direct, whilst their physicality could prove pivotal in helping to nullify the home side’s attacking arsenal.
Fulham’s first outing without the departed Andreas Pereira, whose exit for Palmeiras was officially confirmed last night, also leaves Silva with some headaches in the offensive positions. Sessegnon’s willing running and defensive discipline would seem to make him an ideal candidate to start in front of Robinson on the flank, but the dependable Alex Iwobi also probably features in Fulham’s first eleven. The Nigerian has always been underrated at this level and his sheer number of progressive passes in the penalty area already this season underline his value to this side. Josh King has been excellent in his opening outings of the campaign and will probably start in the ten, with Wilson out wide – assuming the Welsh winger hasn’t had an adverse reaction to that untimely knock. Muniz is likely to start up front, even if the experience of Raul jimenez could be very useful on a big stage like this.
The Whites will need to be confidence and pragmatic in equal measure this afternoon. There will be times when they will need to temper the tenacity that comes with a local derby and Silva’s natural attacking instincts because staying in the game may make Stamford Bridge restless. It will be Fulham’s toughest test of the season so far – and a good yardstick against which to assess the Cottagers’ prospects. The key is remaining calm and being as clinical as the Cottagers were last year.
**MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1):** Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Andersen, Bassey; Lukic, Berge; Wilson, R. Sessegnon, King; Muniz. **Subs:** Lecomte, Castagne, Cuenca, Reed, Cairney, Iwobi, Traore, Smith Rowe, Jimenez.