Chelsea face off against their cross-town rivals Fulham in the early kickoff on Saturday, August 30, in the Premier League.
The Blues will be looking to continue their free-scoring ways after they came from behind to beat West Ham at the London Stadium 5-1 last Friday.
Meanwhile, the Cottagers will come into the game with some confidence after beating Bristol City 2-0 in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
They also secured a hard-fought point against Manchester United in their last Premier League game, and they will be keen to build on that against Enzo Maresca’s team at the weekend.
While Chelsea go into the game as the big favourites, Fulham will be eager to give a good account of themselves against their nextdoor neighbours.
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Chelsea vs. Fulham lineups: Predicted starting XI, team news, Cole Palmer injury latest
Maresca confirmed on Friday that talisman Cole Palmer, who missed the game against West Ham on Friday after aggravating a groin injury during the warm-up, will not feature against Fulham. He also said Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile remain sidelined.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson are set to miss the game against Marco Silva’s team as they look set to move away from the club before the transfer deadline on September 1.
Apart from that, Maresca has a fully fit squad to choose from aside from Levi Colwill, who is set to miss the majority of the ongoing season with an ACL injury.
Blues skipper Reece James dropped to the bench against the Hammers, but expect him to be back in from the off on Saturday. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the Italian manager continues to play Liam Delap as his striker of choice against the Cottagers.
Estevao will be expected to start after his impressive performance against West Ham last week.
Chelsea predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — James, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Cucurella — Fernandez, Caicedo — Neto, Estevao, Joao Pedro — Delap
Injured: Colwill (ACL), Badiashile (knock), Lavia (muscular), Palmer (groin)
Suspended: Mudryk (doping violation)
Silva has nearly a fully fit squad to choose from, so he could well name an unchanged lineup to the one that held Manchester United to a draw on Sunday. The only absentee is likely to be Harry Wilson, who has a foot injury that is described as not serious.
The Cottagers made a number of changes to their squad for the Carabao Cup encounter against Bristol City, so key players have had a rest. Bernd Leno is expected to return in goal, while Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey should be back in the defense after being rested in midweek.
Sasa Lukic and Sander Berge are expected to start in the middle of the park with Timothy Castagne, Josh King and Alex Iwobi all set to feature behind Rodrigo Muniz in attack.
Fulham predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Leno (GK) — Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon — Lukic, Berge — Castagne, King, Iwobi, — Muniz
Injured: Wilson (foot)
Suspended: None
Chelsea vs. Fulham match details
- Date: Saturday, August 30, 2025
- Kickoff time: 12.30 p.m. local time / 7:30 a.m. ET / 4:30 a.m. PT
- Location: Stamford Bridge, London (England)
- Competition: Premier League
- Referee: Rob Jones
- VAR: Michael Salisbury
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