Chelsea V Fulham Preview

Chelsea v Fulham

Saturday 2 May 2009, Stamford Bridge

Kickoff: 15:00

Chelsea

Chelsea beat West Ham United 1-0 at Upton Park in their last league match, the Blues' third win in four matches.

In their last five, Chelsea have won three, drawn one and lost one, picking up ten points from a potential fifteen. They are currently third in the league, three points behind second placed Liverpool and six points clear of fourth placed Arsenal.

Chelsea will likely be without Ricardo Carvalho for this match, with the veteran defender suffering a hamstring injury.

Fulham

Fulham FC beat Stoke City 1-0 at Craven Cottage in their last league match.

In their last five matches, Fulham have won three, drawn one and lost one, picking up ten points from the fifteen on offer. Fulham are currently seventh in the league, six points behind fifth placed Everton and two points ahead of eighth placed West Ham.

Fulham currently have no reported injury concerns.

Prediction

The two sides drew 2-2 earlier this season at Craven Cottage, whilst last season's Chelsea vs Fulham fixture ended in a 0-0 draw.

With their upcoming Champions League second-leg match with Barcelona set for Wednesday night, Chelsea may field a weaker team than usual for this match.

Furthermore, with the Blues already having played on Tuesday this week in Spain, manager Guus Hiddink is likely to want some of his key players to be fully rested for the all-important semi-final clash, which undoubtedly takes top priority over the Premier League for Chelsea at this point.

Fulham are playing for their best ever finish in the league, and with a European spot up for grabs, their remaining matches will be their one and only priority.

Still to face Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton in their end of season run-in, the Cottagers will want to take as many points from each encounter to give them the best chance of finishing seventh at the end of the season.

With their sight sets on other competitions, Chelsea haven't been entirely convincing in the Premier League in recent weeks, even at Stamford Bridge. Furthermore, Fulham have been relatively solid on the road as of late, losing only once in their last six away games.

The last two league matches at Stamford Bridge between these sides both ended in draws, and with the Cottagers having drawn eight of their away matches this season—the equal highest amount of any team—in spite of Chelsea going into this match as strong favourites to win with the bookies, a draw could very well be on the cards.

Read the complete preview with the best betting guide at the Chelsea - Fulham odds and preview page now!

Then read our other weekend previews: Middlesbrough vs Manchester United, Portsmouth vs Arsenal and Liverpool vs Newcastle all at the Sports Betting Review Web site.