Chelsea will be looking to return to winning ways when they make the short trip to face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday at 7:30pm.
The Blues are winless in their past four league games, drawing three. That includes a draw against Manchester City at the weekend.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Fulham
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Gusto; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro.
The run of form leaves Chelsea fifth, three points outside the top four. But the Blues do go into this game in good local form. Chelsea are unbeaten in their past nine Premier League London derbies, winning five and drawing four.
They have also won six of their past seven away league games against Fulham, with one defeat in January 2023.
Chelsea team news vs Fulham
Chelsea looked good in the second half of their draw against Man City, and that may influence their starting XI for the west London derby. Of course, Chelsea do have Moises Caicedo available after suspension, and he will go straight back into the midfield.
But the Ecuadorean could be partnered by Andrey Santos, who came on at half-time at the Etihad. His arrival saw Enzo Fernandez pushed to the No.10 role with Cole Palmer moved out to the left. That could be the setup on Wednesday, with Estevao dropping out of the starting XI. Pedro Neto is likely to continue on the left, with Joao Pedro leading the line.
There may also be a change in defence. With Caicedo available, Reece James could return to right-back ahead of Josh Acheampong. There are still doubts surrounding Marc Cucurella’s fitness, with the Spaniard having missed the past two matches. Malo Gusto may retain his spot at left-back.
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There is also uncertainty regarding Robert Sanchez’s availability, but Filip Jorgensen will be ready to continue in goal if needed. Wesley Fofana may return to the defence to partner Trevoh Chalobah, having missed the draw with Man City due to illness.
Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill are out injured.
Who will be in the Chelsea dugout?
Calum McFarlane was the man in charge of Chelsea’s draw with Man City at the weekend, following Enzo Maresca’s departure on New Year’s Day. The Chelsea Under-21s boss earned plaudits for Chelsea’s performance, particularly for their second-half comeback.
“When I first took the job, I was told I would take the Manchester City game. So that was three days with the group,” McFarlane said after the trip to the Etihad.
“There’s a chance the new manager will be in on Monday – that’s what I was told originally.
“Obviously, it’s Sunday now. We’ve been solely focused on the game. I’m sure I’ll get more information once I’m out of this press conference. But as far as I know, the new manager will be in shortly and I’ll lead the team until he’s in.”
Liam Rosenior has travelled to London for talks about the vacant role, and he is expected to make the switch from sister club Strasbourg. But there haven’t been any developments since. So McFarlane is likely to be in the dugout for the trip to Craven Cottage too, unless Chelsea speed up their recruitment process.
Even if Rosenior is hired in time, we’re not likely to see drastic changes until he has had more time to look at his new players. So even then Rosenior could watch on as McFarlane leads the team for one last match.