Overview
The derby between Chelsea and Fulham was more of a geographical competition than a professional one. The history of the confrontation is leaning towards the west London blue team with a score of 22-3 in the Premier League.
Of the opponents who have met Fulham more than six times, only Manchester United (230 points/match) and Arsenal (2.22 points/match) have an average record better than Chelsea (2.14 points/match).
However, Fulham entered this match with certain confidence after a rare 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge last season. This is the victory that ended Fulham's 21-match winless streak away from home against Chelsea. However, they have never won consecutively away from home here throughout their history.
Fulham's away form of the London derby is also improving. They have won 4 of their last 8 matches (2 draws, 2 losses), an achievement equal to the total number of wins in the previous 43 derbies combined.
In fact, it has been 22 years since Fulham last won back-to-back in London. After beating Brentford 3-2 last year, they have the chance to end that thirst this weekend.
Fulham are yet to win in the Premier League this season, with two consecutive draws 1-1 after coming back against Brighton and Man United. Only once in history - the 2010 2011 season - have they started with 3 draws.
Meanwhile, Chelsea started the season in a similar pattern to last year. They failed to score at home but exploded away. If they have scored five or more goals against Manchester City and Wolves in 2024-25, then Crystal Palace and West Ham. The 1-1 draw with Palace evoked the scenario of last season - something Fulham fans are hoping will bring peace.
Fulham's big advantage is their intact squad, having not suffered any injuries. In contrast, Chelsea are missing up to six players, including Cole Palmer, who picked up an injury in the warm-up against West Ham. In addition, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill and Romeo Lavia are unlikely to feature.
However, the impressive victory at the London Stadium showed the depth of the Blues' squad. Five different players have scored, making Estevao the youngest player to ever assist Chelsea in the Premier League, while Joao Pedro is the brightest face.
He opened the scoring before assisting Pedro Neto and Trevoh Chalobah to score. With 4 goals in 4 matches, Pedro is aiming for a special milestone. In the Premier League era, only Diego Costa (7), Tammy Abraham (7) and Alvaro Morata (5) have scored at least 5 goals in their first 5 matches for Chelsea in all competitions.
A big question mark before the derby lies in coach Marco Silva's decision to the center forward position. His key strikers have only started once this season. If he is called up, Raul Jimenez will make history as the first Mexican player to reach 200 Premier League appearances.
However, Rodrigo Muniz has many opportunities to be given a starting position, especially when he was the decisive scorer in this confrontation last season. The Brazilian striker's away form is also very impressive, scoring 6 goals in the last 10 matches.
Even when he is not a starting player, Muniz is still a formidable spearhead from the bench. He has scored seven goals as a substitute since the start of last season - more than any other player in the Premier League. In total, Fulham has scored 19 goals from substitutes in the same period, 4 more than the next-placed team.
However, the overall attacking advantage is still leaning towards Chelsea. Fulham's defense has not kept a clean sheet in 11 consecutive matches in the tournament since March. This could be an opportunity for the Blues to find their first home goal of the season.
Head-to-head record
This derby is often considered one of the most one-sided matches in English football.
Chelsea have lost just three of their 36 Premier League meetings with Fulham (8.3%) - their lowest tally against any opponent in the competition, if counting 20 or more meetings. This achievement is on par with the overwhelming record that Man United created against Aston Villa.
However, Marco Silva's side re-written history at Stamford Bridge in their last visit. On Boxing Day last year, Fulham came back to win 2-1 thanks to Rodrigo Muniz's 95th-minute goal.
The match between Chelsea and Fulham takes place at 6:30 p.m. on August 30 (Vietnam time).
