Chelsea - Fulham predictions and free betting tips [13/01/2024]

On Saturday, 13 January, as part of the 21st round of the EPL, Chelsea will host Fulham on their home turf. Chelsea is eager to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd after a 1:0 defeat from Middlesbrough in the English League Cup semi-finals, while Marco Silva's charges succumbed to Liverpool at Anfield (2:1).

Projected Line-ups

Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Gallagher, Fernandez; Sterling, Palmer, Mudryk; Broja.
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez.

Stadium

The clash will take place in London at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea

Despite the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino at the helm last summer, Chelsea this season is failing to live up to expectations. Occupying only the 10th place in the Premier League standings, the Blues are 6 points adrift from the European competition zone. Despite a weak start to the campaign, lately, the Londoners managed to pick up some good momentum as evidenced by 3 wins in the last 4 tours and only 1 defeat. After a 2:1 fiasco from “Wolverhampton”, Chelsea won against Crystal Palace (2:1) and Luton on the road (2:3).

Last weekend, the "aristocrats" easily trounced "Preston" in the FA Cup (4:0), but last Tuesday they stumbled away from Middlesbrough (1:0) in the first match of the League Cup semi-finals - all decided by a single goal by Hayden Hackney. Having won only three home games in the EPL from January 2023 to November 2023, Chelsea racked up nine points out of a possible nine at home in December - but the Blues have not managed to secure four successive victories at Stamford Bridge since July 2020.

Fulham

Having settled in the middle of the league table, Fulham is currently in 13th place in the overall standings of the Premier League. Although the team is not vying for a place in the European Cups, the Londoners have also secured themselves from the relegation zone (9 points). In the previous round, Fulham snapped a three-game losing streak (against Newcastle, Burnley, and Bournemouth), unexpectedly defeating Arsenal (2:1) at home on New Year's Eve. A week ago, Marco Silva's team won against Rotherham with a score of 1:0 in the 1/32 final of the FA Cup, and last Wednesday, the white-and-blacks succumbed to Liverpool at Anfield in the first meeting of the League Cup semi-finals (2:1).

The "Cottagers" took the lead in the first half thanks to major Willian, but in the middle of the second half, the Merseysiders restored parity on the scoreboard through Curtis Jones' efforts and then substitutes Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo constructed the decisive goal. It should be noted that in each of Fulham's last four trips in the championship, the team suffered defeat, conceding no less than three goals. 

Head-to-Head Meetings

Goals from Musiala and Armando Broja allowed Chelsea to prevail over Fulham with a score of 0:2 at Craven Cottage in October.

Match Prediction: Chelsea vs Fulham

Only Sheffield United (25) conceded more goals on the road in the current EPL campaign than Fulham (23) - considering that the Whites have only picked up 6 points in ten matches away from home. Pochettino's men, firstly, had an extra day for recovery after cup battles, and secondly, are eager to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd for the painful defeat against Middlesbrough. I believe that class will prevail and the Blues will secure a comfortable victory.

Total Prediction

Even at Craven Cottage, Chelsea managed to break through the opponent's defence twice - with the support of home stands, the hosts will definitely score at least two goals.

Corner Prediction

Chelsea will assume initiative from the very beginning and will be much more active in attack, while Fulham is quite accustomed to playing second fiddle. I am looking forward to a win from the home team in the corners with a handicap of -1.5.

Yellow Card Prediction

Neither one nor the other team is infamous for excessive roughness on the field, so my bet is on the total number of yellow cards to be under 4.5.

Score Prediction

I'll bet on an exact score of 2:0 in favour of Chelsea.