Chelsea: Three things to look for against Fulham as Blues return to action

Chelsea returns to Premier League action with a derby against old rivals and neighbors Fulham. What should fans look for in this match?

After a welcome break for the FA Cup, Chelsea is back in action this Saturday as they seek their first league victory since Christmas as they make the short trip down Fulham Road to take on their local neighbors, Fulham. With a 4-0 win over Morecambe last weekend in the cup, the Blues will hope to get their season back on track against Fulham who haven’t lost in their last six. But what many would have expected to be a routine win at the beginning of the season is now more questionable and there’s plenty to look out for in this West London derby.

1. Survival of the fittest

Chelsea has played four times since Christmas. A solitary point and a place in the FA Cup fourth round is all they have to show for it. Meanwhile, their hosts this Saturday have had fixtures against Tottenham and Burnley postponed, the latter of which was rescheduled for this past week and saw the Whites salvage a 1-1 draw. Scott Parker was not afraid at showing his displeasure with the short-notice ahead of the rescheduled tie which he labelled “scandalous”.

The West London derby was delayed by a day as a result of the short-notice rescheduling of the Tottenham tie. Now taking place on Saturday evening with Fulham having played a midweek fixture and having had a COVID-enforced winter break, Parkers men are sure to be showing signs of fatigue.

Fulham’s out-of-form talisman Aleksandr Mitrovic has been in trouble for breaching COVID regulations while Ademola Lookman began the Spurs clash on the bench. So, the Whites may be lacking firepower and Frank Lampard should look to take advantage.

2. The Thames Barrier

Fulham haven’t lost in over a month and have conceded just once from open play since their last defeat: Harry Kane’s header opening the scoring this past week. The White’s backline is a distant cry from that which started the season. Gone are the likes of Tim Ream and playoff hero Joe Bryan. In their place came Antonee Robinson and Joachim Andersen, who has taken the armband since his loan move from Lyon.

For Chelsea, their new stars are still yet to truly get off the mark and much of the Blues’ recent scoring has come through heroes of the past, a la Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud. Last week that finally changed as Timo Werner and Kai Havertz both added to their tallies. Unfortunately, their goals came against Morecambe and some may feel they should’ve done more against a team three divisions below.

Tottenham and Liverpool have the league’s top two goal differences and boast the top three scorers between them yet both struggled to break down the Cottagers defense. If Chelsea are to get anything from this match, they will need whichever attackers Lampard picks to be at their best.

3. Manager Matchup

I’m sure that throughout Saturday’s commentary there will be numerous parallels drawn between the two men in the dugouts. This is after all, the first time they have faced off as managers. Both are former club legends of their respective teams. Both are relatively new to the managerial world having got their first taste of top-flight experience in 2019. And both are former England internationals who have captained the Three-Lions at least once.

The similarities don’t end there. At 42 and 40 respectively, Lampard and Parker are two of the youngest managers in the Premier League with only the 38-year-old Mikel Arteta besting them. Both have had relatively successful starts to their brief managerial careers. Lampard almost took Derby to the Premier League before leading Chelsea to a top-four finish in spite of a transfer ban. Parker meanwhile was able to bring Fulham back up on the first time of asking, having been unable to save them from the drop in 2019.

Despite this, there remain concerns around their tactics which are, some might say, uninspired. I have no doubt that the two Englishmen will have long, and hopefully successful careers, and Saturdays encounter is sure to be the first of many but who will claim the bragging rights is anyone’s guess.

What are you looking for in this match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!