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Chelsea v Fulham

BBC
·3-min read

Team news

Chelsea have no new injury concerns ahead of the visit of Fulham.

Marc Cucurella is available following suspension but Romeo Lavia is still out with a hamstring injury and joins Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile on the sidelines.

Fulham will assess the fitness of Emile Smith Rowe, Sasa Lukic and Sander Berge.

Andreas Pereira returns from suspension

Match facts

Head-to-head

  • Fulham's only win against Chelsea in the past 25 meetings in all competitions came in the league at Craven Cottage in January last year.

  • Fulham have not won at Stamford Bridge since a 2-0 victory in the Second Division in 1979.

  • Chelsea have lost just two of the 34 Premier League encounters overall.

Chelsea

  • Chelsea's draw with Everton on Sunday ended a run of eight straight wins in all competitions and was the first time in 16 league matches that they failed to score.

  • However, the Blues will spend Christmas in the top two for the first time since 2016-17.

  • Chelsea have a home fixture on Boxing Day for the first time since a 2-0 defeat against Southampton in 2019. All six of their Boxing Day Premier League defeats were in London: three at Stamford Bridge and one each at Highbury, The Valley and Emirates Stadium.

  • They have triumphed in only two of their past 11 London derbies on 26 December.

  • Enzo Maresca's side have lost just three of their last 32 Premier League fixtures. Those defeats were at Arsenal and Liverpool and at home to Manchester City.

  • Only Arsenal have scored more set-piece goals (excluding penalties) than Chelsea's seven.

  • Nicolas Jackson has scored 15 goals in 19 Premier League starts at Stamford Bridge. He also has 13 goal involvements in his last 12 London derby appearances, scoring 11 and assisting two.

  • Cole Palmer has scored 25 Premier League goals in 2024, one behind Erling Haaland, and has equalled the Chelsea record for a calendar year, set by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2001.

Fulham

  • Fulham have equalled their longest Premier League unbeaten run of five games under Marco Silva (W1, D4). Their most recent longer spell without defeat was their first seven league matches under Mark Hughes from August to October 2010.

  • They have 25 points, their joint-highest tally after 17 Premier League fixtures of a season. It was previously set under Chris Coleman in 2003-04.

  • Their club record of scoring in 15 successive Premier League games came to an end in last weekend's draw with Southampton.

  • Fulham's 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth last season ended a six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League on Boxing Day.

  • The Cottagers have scored seven top-flight goals via substitutes, second only to Bournemouth's eight.

  • Antonee Robinson has made 50 consecutive starts in the Premier League, the third-longest ongoing streak after James Tarkowski (94) and Max Kilman (56).

  • Only Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka have provided more than Robinson's six assists in the Premier League this season.