Prediction: Fulham vs Chelsea

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 12/5

Bookmaker: Luckster

With both sides harbouring European ambitions, Fulham will welcome neighbours Chelsea on Sunday at Craven Cottage for what should be an interesting Premier League clash in West London.

Fulham’s mood is a set of mixed emotions at the moment, having followed a glorious victory over champions-elect Liverpool with a disappointing defeat away to Bournemouth in their last outing. Speaking of disappointments, it was a hard week for Chelsea, who had to fight back from two goals down to earn a point against relegation-bound Ipswich Town in the previous round in the English top flight, before suffering a surprising, though ultimately inconsequential, home defeat to Legia Warsaw in the second leg of the Europa Conference League quarterfinals in midweek.

Fulham

Fulham played a truly great game against Liverpool and deservedly beat the league leaders, but that was the only game of their last five that they did not lose.

On Monday, a difficult contest at the Vitality Stadium saw them fail to recover from conceding to Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo less than a minute from the first whistle. Despite controlling the ball for 60% of the active play time and firing seven shots on target, they simply couldn’t find an equalizer and headed home with nothing to show for their efforts.

That result saw the Cherries overtake Fulham in the table rankings, though both sides, sitting in eighth and ninth place, respectively, boast the tally of 48 points, as do 10th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion. Aston Villa in seventh seem distant at this point, with six points more than this trio.

The total number of English clubs in European competitions next season will depend on how they do this term, with Arsenal battling in the Champions League semifinals, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the same stage of the Europa League, and Chelsea in the Conference League.

Team News

Marco Silva is waiting for news regarding the availability of Harry Wilson, who has been out of action since the end of January with a broken foot. The 28-year-old could make his comeback on Sunday, though he isn’t likely to start. Fellow winger Reiss Nelson, on the other hand, remains out and isn’t expected to play again this season.

The same lineup started the vastly different matches against Liverpool and Bournemouth, and it will be interesting to see if Silva opts to make changes or stick with it. Those pushing to break into the starting XI are arguably Adama Traore, Emile Smith Rowe and Raul Jimenez, with Ryan Sessegnon, Ricardo Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz worrying about keeping their places.

Chelsea

It’s always nice when your team fights back from two goals down and ends up avoiding defeat, but Chelsea’s failure to take all three points at home against Ipswich Town, whose relegation from the Premier League is almost certain, is likely to prove costly at the end of the season.

Had they won, Enzo Maresca’s team would be sitting in Champions League-warranting fifth place right now. As it is, they trail still-reigning champions Manchester City by a point in the race for qualification for UEFA’s elite club competition next term.

The fact that Chelsea earned a three-goal triumph over Legia in Warsaw in the first leg of their encounter in the Conference League quarterfinals proved crucial for securing their place in the semis, providing a basis for what should’ve been a job routinely done at Stamford Bridge.

But an early penalty for the visitors enabled Tomas Pekhart to upset the odds, and even though Marc Cucurella’s 33rd-minute equalizer reduced the tension, Steve Kapuadi scored what turned out to be the winning goal for Legia eight minutes into the second half.

Team News

Maresca remains without Mykhaylo Mudryk, suspended for failing a drugs test back in December.

Wesley Fofana and Omari Kellyman are out for the season through respective hamstring injuries. Marc Guiu should be back in action early next month.

On a more positive note, Romeo Lavia should be in contention for the Craven Cottage clash, having overcome a thigh problem of his own and returned to team training, though the fact that he’s played a total of 64 minutes over two Premier League matches since mid-December makes him highly unlikely to get a place in the starting XI.

Captain Reece James, having played in midfield against Legia, should retake his spot on the right defensive flank from 18-year-old Josh Acheampong, with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo to take their places in the middle of the park. Levi Colwill, Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto are also likely to return to the lineup.

Conclusion

Chelsea will be determined to set a few matters right after the woes of previous matches, but they won’t have an easy job at the Cottage as the same can be said about Fulham, who have proven they have what it takes to fight against high-quality teams and will be playing in front of their own fans. A tightly contested match is on the cards, likely ending with the spoils shared.

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 12/5

Bookmaker: Luckster