Chelsea vs Fulham LIVE! Premier League result, match stream, latest updates today

Chelsea vs Fulham LIVE!

Chelsea beat their west London neighbours Fulham 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a Cole Palmer penalty that earned the Blues their third Premier League win in a row, even if coach Mauricio Pochettino's men still looked laboured in front of goal. Palmer sent Bernd Leno the wrong way with his spot kick in the dying moments of the first half after Raheem Sterling was brought down by Issa Diop's trailing foot.

Fulham's best chance for an equaliser fell to Raul Jimenez whose shot forced Djordje Petrovic into a one-handed save in the 73rd minute. Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher smacked the post with a shot from the outside of his boot in the 83rd minute.

One of the biggest cheers came when Ben Chilwell was sent on from the Chelsea bench, marking the England defender's return from injury and potentially solving the Blue's left-back problem which centre half Levi Colwill has struggled to fix. The win pushed Chelsea up two places in the league table to eighth, above Manchester United and Newcastle United who both have a game in hand over the Blues.

Chelsea vs Fulham latest updates

• GOAL! Palmer from the penalty spot

14:48 , Alex Young

Here are Nizaar Kinsella's player ratings.

14:32 , Alex Young

It is also a fifth straight away defeat for Fulham. They had the chances late on to snatch a point.

Full-time!

14:29 , Alex Young

97min: They've done it! Hung on for a third league win in a row!

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96min: Oh my, Willian's delivery is sent back across goal, and Fulham bodies throw themselves at it and Chelsea bodies throw themselves in front of it... and somewhere clear.

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95min: A final chance for Fulham as Colwill fouls Decodova-Reid...

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92min: Chelsea change as Palmer and Gusto make way for Gilchrist and Chukuemeka.

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91min: Five minutes added on.

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90min: The game is so stretched as Fulham push for an equaliser and Chelsea look to launch counterattacks. Palmer almost slipped in by Madueke, but the pass was a yard astray.

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88min: Fulham are pushing Chelsea further and further back.

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86min: Willian lines up a free kick on the edge of the area... but goes for power and it flies over the bar.

POST!

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83min: Gallagher denied by the post! A thunderous outside-of-the-boot effort from the edge of the area thwacks the upright.

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82min: Jimenez is getting a bit desperate, it seems. He's just tried to lob Petrovic from the halfway line, and didn't get anywhere near.

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80min: Silva gets booked for taking out Jimenez and then Palmer goes into the book for booting the ball away.

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77min: Here comes Chilwell, replaces Sterling.

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76min: Caicedo gives away a free kick around 30 yards out. Pereira fancies it... and sends an effort high and wide.

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74min: Another nice take from Jimenez, bringing down a high ball in the corner of the area and forcing Petrovic into a save at his near post.

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73min: Superb save from Petrovic to deny Jimenez, inside the area. Chilwell is preparing to come on.

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71min: Madueke has the better of Castagne down the right flank, sub vs sub, and then wins a corner.

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69min: They are almost queuing up! Palmer is inches away from slipping in Gallagher, then turns a defender himself into the area but sees the ball get away from him, and just then Colwill had a pop from the edge of the box which fizzed beyond the top corner.

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67min: Broja is replaced by Madueke in Chelsea's first change.

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64min: And that's Wilson's final act as he is replaced by De Cordova-Reid. Castagne replaces Tete.

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62min: Fulham try to make headway down the right with Willian but Wilson can't keep the ball in. They haven't been able to create much bar that one good Wilson chance in the first half.

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60min: Fulham reading some changes.

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59min: It's all Chelsea, and a second goal almost looks inevitable.

This time, Palmer sends Robinson to the shops before finding Gusto to drill into the area... and Sterling has the ball taken off his toe just yards out.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

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Those inswinging Enzo Fernandez crosses just off the left are absolutely textbook for him. He is so consistent with that delivery and just loves it. The less said about Raheem Sterling's header, the better.

POST!

13:47 , Alex Young

53min: Almost a rare headed goal from Sterling (well, any goal for Sterling is rare at this point) but the post denies him with Leno stranded. Gusto blazes the follow-up over.

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50min: Almost an opening for Broja inside the area as he switches the ball from foot to foot but he can't quite engineer a space and Fulham clear.

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49min: Cairney's delivery is too deep and Chelsea clear and then counter, until Wilson wipes out Fernandez for a booking.

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48min: An early chance for Fulham after Jimenez is fouled near the edge of the area, on the corner...

Second half!

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46min: Back underway.

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Almost time for the second half. Doesn't look like any changes, though Chilwell is out warming up.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

13:28 , Alex Young

Cole Palmer gives Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, it looked soft but Anthony Taylor gave it and it survived the VAR check.

Marco Silva will be angry about that decision and the Gusto challenge moments earlier.

Half-time!

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49min: There's the whistle!

GOAL!

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48min: Palmer makes no mistake from 12 yards. Chelsea with the lead with the final kick of the first half!

PENALTY

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47min: A huge moment in the final seconds of the first half as Sterling goes down!

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46min: Two minutes added on.

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42min: The crowd are starting to grow frustrated, and I can't blame them. Hasn't been the easiest game on the eye.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

13:13 , Alex Young

Gusto was yellow-carded but it could have been a red card. He was sent off for less against Aston Villa.

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38min: Willian is writhing around in pain after a tough tackle from Gusto, who gets booked for his troubles. Very sloppy, that.

Willian will be fine.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

13:07 , Alex Young

Chelsea have been marginally the better team in the first half but they're hardly battering down the door. Fulham are only under minor pressure and have, on occasion been dangerous on the counterattack. A fairly even west London derby so far.

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33min: Chelsea still boast the majority of possession but their intricate passing in Fulham's final third is letting them down. Gusto tried one too many to see a promising move break down.

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29min: Chelsea are creating half-openings, enough to squeeze a shot away but not enough to really test Fulham or Leno in goal.

Palmer the latest for a weak effort that's easily saved.

SAVE!

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27min: Fulham should be ahead! A stunning save from Petrovic at the far post after Pereira finds Wilson to drive at goal.

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26min: First shot on target for Fulham as Pereira takes a punt from the edge of the area. It was never troubling Petrovic, but the chance came about as Caicedo was robbed of the ball by Wilson.

CLOSE!

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21min: Best chance of the game so far as Sterling finds Fernandez in space on the left. One touch to control and another to whip in a superb cross for Broja to head narrowly wide of the near post.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

12:52 , Alex Young

Levi Colwill has reacted well to his poor performance at Middlesbrough, very aggressive early on and some good end product on his first foray forward.

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18min: Wilson goes down under pressure from Thiago Silva. He should be OK but looks in some pain.

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16min: Fulham venture into the Chelsea area for the first time, through Pereira, but Chelsea stand tall and clear. It's too easy at the moment.

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12min: Chelsea pushing more, with Broja first sending a ball into the box which is cleared before Fernandez has a shot from 20 yards blocked. That was heading on target.

Palmer and Fernandez particularly busy.

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10min: Fulham struggling to find a way through Chelsea's defence so far. The hosts holding their shape well.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

12:41 , Alex Young

Frank Lampard is watching the match in the director's box with the sporting directors. That's an ominous sign for any Chelsea manager...

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7min: Almost an opening for Gallagher after fine work from Sterling on the flank, but Fulham get in a boot as the midfielder prepared to pull the trigger inside the area.

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

12:37 , Alex Young

Mauricio Pochettino gave Jesus Perez a knowing look when a Cole Palmer free-kick was easily cleared by Joao Palhinha and the ball was player back to the centre-backs when cleared...

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4min: Palmer takes but it's cleared easily. Disappointing.

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3min: Tete wipes out Sterling near the touchline. The Fulham is nonplussed but no-one else is.

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2min: Early possession for Chelsea, between midfield and defence.

Kick-off!

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1min: Here we go!

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Here come the players.

12:23 , Alex Young

Kick-off is fast approaching, both teams back in the dressing rooms and soon will be in the tunnel.

Marco Silva to TNT Sports

12:20 , Alex Young

"What [Pochettino] has done already in his career speaks for itself. I have huge respect for him as well.

"We have a very good relationship and a good connection. Chelsea are a very good side with a very good manager as well and I'm sure it will be a very tough game for us."

Mauricio Pochettino to TNT Sports

12:10 , Alex Young

"We know that we are going to face a very good side like Fulham, they played very good against Liverpool.

"Of course it will be tough, we need to deserve to win, we need to perform. We were disappointed after the Middlesbrough defeat but we need to change the mentality and approach the game differently."

Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge

11:59 , Alex Young

Here's our man at the ground.

Team news

11:47 , Alex Young

Chelsea make one change from the 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg in midweek.

Cole Palmer started as a false nine in that game, but returns to midfield as Armando Broja comes in for Noni Madueke. Ben Chilwell and Benoit Badiashile return to the squad as substitutes.

Fulham, also in Leageu Cup action in midweek, make three changes from the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool.

Tom Cairney, Harry Wilson and Kenny Tete come in from Timothy Castagne, Harrison Reed and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Nizaar Kinsella checks in at Stamford Bridge

11:40 , Alex Young

Morning all, the XIs are in and both Chelsea and Fulham are largely as you'd expect.

From Chelsea's perspective, injuries have left them without the ability to rotate in any position except in attack. Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja and Cole Palmer get the nod.

There is welcome news on the bench, however, where Ben Chilwell, Benoit Badiashile and Carney Chukwuemeka all return from injury lay-offs of various lengths.

Team news in full

11:35 , Alex Young

Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Broja

Subs: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Badiashile, Gilchrist, Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, Madueke, Mudryk, Washington

Fulham XI: Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Joao Palhinha, Cairney; Wilson, Andreas Pereira, Willian, Jimenez

Subs: Rodak, Reed, Ream, De Cordova-Reid, Castagne, Lukic, Vinicius, Francois, Rodrigo Muniz

Chelsea XI

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Here's how the hosts look!

Fulham XI

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...and the visitors!

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Team news is imminent from Stamford Bridge.

Berbatov predicts tight game

11:19 , Alex Young

We've plumped for a 1-1 draw today, and former Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov agrees.

He told Betfair: "I don't know what to say anymore when it comes to Chelsea, honestly. So many teams are struggling to put the ball in the net at the moment, it shows you how important it is to have a striker who can score goals and how good it is if you have more than one guy to score the goals."When you don't have the players who can score then your game suffers. You draw 0-0 or you lose games. If it continues then the only logical thing to do is to go out on the training pitch and continue to do what you've done before - trying to put the ball in the back of the net."Based on Chelsea's performance against Middlesbrough, I'll go for a draw in this one ... 1-1 draw."

Silva: Fulham will be playing for the fans

11:13 , Alex Young

Marco Silva has told Fulham they will be playing for the fans in today's "special" west London derby.

The last meeting between the two teams in October ended in a 2-0 win for Mauricio Pochettino's side at Craven Cottage courtesy of goals from Armando Broja and Mykhailo Mudryk - and Silva wants to see an improvement.

Silva said: "It's a special one. There's a big number of derbies in London and this one is more special for the fans. We play for the fans in these type of games.

"We had the chance to play against them at home and it wasn't our best game. We want to do something different against a very good side.

"They are not as consistent as they'd like to be, but they have the quality, a high amount of individual quality who can decide a game in any moment.

"We have to be at a very good level because it will be an intense game, a derby."

Chelsea could dip into transfer market after Nkunku injury

11:05 , Alex Young

Mauricio Pochettino has hinted Chelsea may need to dip into the transfer market if Christopher Nkunku's injury problems persist.

The French forward will miss his third match in a row with a hip problem when Fulham visit Stamford Bridge in a west London derby in the Premier League on Saturday.

Nkunku has only started one competitive match for Chelsea since joining in a £52million move from RB Leipzig last summer.

Asked by Standard Sport whether his latest absence could force Chelsea to sign a goalscorer, head coach Pochettino said: “It’s true that now, in the next few days, we are going to see the situation. That’s why I say I am a little worried.

“I still don’t have all the information about whether he will be available or not for a small initial period. We need to be very clinical to take some decisions, to think and see how we fix the problem.”

Read more here!

Odds

10:51 , Alex Young

A tough London derby in store for us today, and the bookies are predicting Chelsea to pick up the bragging rights.

• Chelsea: 8/13

• Draw: 31/10

• Fulham: 4/1

(Odds via Betfair.)

Score prediction

10:34 , Alex Young

Neither team is fully firing at the moment, with the Blues' Bridge frustrations showing little sign of ending.

A 1-1 draw.

Fulham team news

10:27 , Alex Young

Marco Silva was tight-lipped when discussing his team news ahead of the game.

Influential defender Tim Ream made the bench against Liverpool upon his return to the team, so could be fit to feature this afternoon.

Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Fode Ballo-Toure are on Africa Cup of Nations duty and Adama Traore is still ruled out.

Chelsea team news

10:13 , Alex Young

A hip injury kept Christopher Nkunku out of Tuesday's defeat at Boro and Pochettino has ruled out him for this weekend.

Benoit Badiashile and Carney Chukwuemeka are nearing returns from recent issues, whereas caution will be taken with Ben Chilwell following his comeback to full training.

Pochettino faced criticism for playing Cole Palmer as a false nine in the Carabao Cup but Armando Broja should be ready to start here despite remaining on a gradual reintroduction from his serious knee injury.

Chelsea are without Nicolas Jackson due to his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament which also features a trio of Fulham players in Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Fode Ballo-Toure.

Where to watch Chelsea vs Fulham

10:06 , Alex Young

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports, with coverage beginning at 11am.

Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.

Welcome

09:59 , Alex Young

Good morning and welcome to the Standard's LIVE coverage of the Premier League game between Chelsea and Fulham.

Mauricio Pochettino can record a third straight win in the league today, which is something Chelsea have not achieved since October 2022, but there is little positivity around the club thanks to that midweek loss to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup.

Fulham, having beaten Arsenal in their final game of 2023, will be licking their lips.