Chelsea make the trip across town to square off against Fulham on Matchday 18 of the Premier League at the iconic venue of Craven Cottage. Fulham have been struggling this season and are placed 18th in the points table with just 13 points to their credit.
The Blues have been struggling themselves in the Premier League with a string of poor performances lately. Frank Lampard’s side have failed to register a win in the competition since their 3-0 win against West Ham United at home in December. However, Chelsea are expected to have a relatively easy fixture when they face off against Fulham.
Lampard will have a full team squad at his disposal on Saturday evening to choose from, except for Charly Musonda who is recovering from a knee injury. It will be interesting to see how Lampard lines up his men for this fixture. Here’s how Chelsea could take to the field against the Cottagers –
Defence
Edouard Mendy will take command between the sticks for the Blues as they would seek to seal all the three points from their trip to Fulham. The goalie has shipped in seven goals in his past three league appearances and will want to make amends for the same. A centre back pairing of Antonio Rüdiger and Thiago Silva is expected to take the field on Saturday evening.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Emerson are expected to be the Blues full-backs for this fixture. The duo started in Chelsea’s win on the weekend against Morecambe in the FA Cup. The duo could be instructed to keep things neat and tight at the back as Lampard would want his side to build on the clean-sheet from a couple of nights before.
Midfield
A midfield trio of Havertz, Mount and N’Golo Kante could feature against Fulham. N’Golo Kante will have the two youngsters to either side. The two got on the score-sheet against Morecambe and will be seeking to nail down their position in the starting lineup with another impressive performance. Havertz was a joy to watch in particular with the way he went about things and he finally seems to be doing justice to the money spent on him by Chelsea.
Jorginho, Billy Gilmour and Mateo Kovacic will make up the numbers on Chelsea’s bench should the need arise for Lampard to resort to his substitutes.
Attack
Hakim Ziyech is expected to retain his place in the starting eleven after a vibrant display in the FA Cup knockout fixture. Timo Werner will occupy the number nine position ahead of Tammy Abraham who has seemed a bit rusty off late. Werner seemed comfortable playing in this central position after operating from the right against Manchester City a week prior. The last place in the line-up could be occupied by Christian Pulisic. Pulisic would want to make use of the pitch and stretch the Fulham defence as much as possible.
Predicted Line-Up
