Chelsea vs Fulham Prediction: Blues to get back to winning ways

Chelsea lost ground on league leaders Liverpool at the weekend, as the Blues were held to a goalless draw by Everton, and they face another tricky assignment on Boxing Day (15:00, live on Prime Video) in the form of their west London rivals Fulham.

A win would see Chelsea move to within one point of the Reds, while Fulham are currently in ninth spot, and have their eyes set on finishing in the European places. Read on for my Chelsea vs Fulham prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Marc Cucurella will return from suspension for Thursday's encounter, while Reece James and Wesley Fofana both remain out until the new year with hamstring problems.

Benoit Badiashile and Omari Kellyman are long-term absentees for Enzo Maresca, and Mykhailo Mudryk will be suspended for the foreseeable future after failing a drugs test.

As for the visitors, Kenny Tete and Harrison Reed will miss the short trip to Stamford Bridge due to their respective knee injuries, while Sasa Lukic, Sander Berge and Emile Smith Rowe are unlikely to be fit for this Boxing Day encounter.

Chelsea vs Fulham Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Chelsea vs Fulham page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Chelsea are 4/9 to get back to winning ways, giving them an implied win probability of 69.2%, while the draw is currently priced at 4/1, and Fulham are 11/2 to claim all three points.

Cole Palmer leads the anytime goalscorer market at 1/1, while Raul Jimenez is shortest-priced for the Cottagers at 9/4.

Chelsea to win and both teams to score @ 8/5

Chelsea will be kicking themselves for dropping two points at Goodison Park last time out, after dominating large periods of the game and creating more chances than their opponents.

A return to Stamford Bridge here should provide the Blues with an opportunity to get back to winning ways, as they've won five of their last six at home and haven’t tasted defeat in front of their own fans since Manchester City's visit on the opening weekend of the season.

The Blues defeated Fulham twice last year and the Cottagers have managed just two wins in eight attempts on the road in the league so far this term.

Chelsea do tend to concede goals, however - they've shipped nine goals in their eight home Premier League games and have only kept one clean sheet at Stamford Bridge in this competition, so a Fulham goal seems likely.

Alex Iwobi to score anytime @ 4/1

As mentioned above, Fulham should be able to take the game to a Chelsea side who do give up opportunities, and struggle to keep clean sheets.

I think Alex Iwobi is someone who can make his mark on this game, especially since he's already matched his total of five Premier League goals from last season in 13 fewer appearances.

The former Arsenal man averages 1.9 shots per game and had six attempts in total against Southampton last time out, so he certainly isn't shy of trying his luck. If the Nigeria international is on the receiving end of one of the chances his teammates carve out for him, I'm backing him to score on Boxing Day.

Offers

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