Chelsea will entertain Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as they look to secure all three points at home in the London derby. The Blues managed to grind out a hard-fought 1-1 draw away at Real Madrid in midweek, so they will be full of confidence ahead of this exciting Premier League showdown at the English capital.
Thomas Tuchel will once again set his team up in a 3-4-2-1 formation and could make a couple of tweaks to his first-team for this game. Both Reece James and Marcos Alonso are expected to start at the expense of Andreas Christensen and Ben Chilwell this weekend.
3-4-2-1 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Fulham
Defence
Edouard Mendy will feature in between the sticks for the Blues after shipping in one goal versus Los Blancos in midweek. Tuchel could opt for a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger as they look to keep the Cottagers at bay during the 90 minutes.
Andreas Christensen could drop to the bench as he offers cover for the centre-back positions.
Midfield
Jorginho and N’Golo Kante will once again anchor the Chelsea midfield this weekend. Their main focus would be to establish their superiority over the opposition at the centre of the park and set up some decent chances in the final third.
Marcos Alonso could get the nod to operate down the left flank while Reece James fills in on the other flank as the right-sided winger. Both of them will be instructed to win the ball back at the halfway line so that they can make some clever runs out on the wide areas and stretch the Fulham backline in the attacking end of the pitch.
Christian Pulisic will operate as the left-sided attacking midfielder after his goal-scoring performance against Real Madrid in midweek. Mason Mount is expected to play a supporting role from the right.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Billy Gilmour and Hakim Ziyech will be available for selection on the bench but Mateo Kovacic is a major doubt for this game because of a thigh injury.
Attack
Timo Werner will lead the line for the West London giants up top. The German striker managed to get his name on the scoresheet in the 1-0 win over West Ham United last weekend. Hence, Tuchel will ask him to be confident and take his chances in front of the Fulham goal when he laces up to face off against the Fulham defenders on Saturday.
Olivier Giroud will have to settle for a spot on the bench but might come on to make an impact in the second half if required.
