Chelsea would hope that a revamped squad, on the back of their big spending this January, could steer them to a turnaround in the second half of the season as they host Fulham in Friday’s Premier League contest.
Graham Potter’s men welcome their city rivals to Stamford Bridge in top flight action this weekend with the home side looking to seek revenge from the thrilling encounter at Craven Cottage three weeks ago which saw Fulham emerge as the victors in a 2-1 scoreline and had Chelsea new boy Joao Felix sent off on his debut.
The Blues remain two points behind Fulham in the league standings ahead of the upcoming game and a win on home soil for the former could see them pip the Cottagers to the delight of the Chelsea faithful who would be eager to see their side’s new signings on show.
A new face who could be in line for his debut outing come Friday night is the Argentine midfield talent Enzo Fernandez who completed his long-awaited move to Chelsea on deadline day with the Blues smashing the British transfer record to land the 21-year-old from Benfica in a £106.8 million deal.
Another of the January signings in Mykhailo Mudryk put out a terrific cameo after coming off the bench last time in the goalless draw against Liverpool and expectations from the Ukrainian winger to provide that extra impetus to a misfiring Chelsea front line would be sky high.
Fulham, meanwhile, last turned out in the FA Cup fourth round fixture at home to a lower-league opposition Sunderland which finished in a 1-1 draw and Marco Silva’s side, who have punched above their weight to sit seventh in the league table, will be looking for a return to winning ways after two top-flight defeats on the bounce to Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur.
WHEN & WHERE?
Date: Friday 3 February 2023
Time: 7 PM GMT
Venue: Stamford Bridge
TEAM NEWS
Joao Felix remains suspended after his red card in the reverse fixture as the Atletico Madrid loanee is set to serve the third and final game of his three-match ban.
Potter would be encouraged to tinker around with his XI for Friday night’s home game with both Mudryk and Fernandez in line to earn their berths on the team sheet at the expense of Hakim Ziyech and Conor Gallagher.
Ziyech saw his deadline day move to Paris Saint-Germain fall through due to the incorrect submission of documents by Chelsea and speculation is rife over the 29-year-old’s availability for the second half of the season.
Midfielders N’Golo Kante and Denis Zakaria both are sidelined with injuries but making a return to the squad could be Mateo Kovacic.
KEY BATTLE
Kai Havertz vs Aleksandar Mitrovic
With new faces coming through the door at the Bridge, the pressure would be greater than ever on Kai Havertz to deliver in the attacking third as the German international risks losing out on his starting berth.
Fulham frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic has been in good form of late and the Serbian striker could pose some problems for the Chelsea backline.
MATCH PREDICTION
We back a new-look Chelsea side to come out on top with the home support cheering them on in Friday’s west London derby.
Chelsea 3-1 Fulham
