English Premier
2025-04-20 - Fulham vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 20th April 2025 - Kick Off 2pm
Fulham
One mistake allowed Bournemouth to break free and score inside the first minute of the game at the Vitality Stadium on Monday evening, but Fulham will be more frustrated with their overall level of performance on the night. The below par efforts on the field were reflected on the sideline after a mistake was made with a substitution that meant Marco Silva's team had the wrong player taken off as they were chasing the equaliser in the second half on the South Coast.
The defeat also meant slipping behind Bournemouth in the Premier League standings with Fulham now in 9th place on goal difference, but the expectation is that 8th will still be the last European spot available to teams in the top flight. Finishing in that position remains the ambition for this squad and Fulham need to bounce back on Sunday when back at Craven Cottage where they have a 7-5-4 record in the Premier League this season.
Fulham's loss on Monday means they have been beaten in 3 of the 4 games played in all competitions since the March international break. The exception was the last fixture hosted at Craven Cottage when Fulham got the better of Liverpool and that does mean the side have won 3 of their last 4 Premier League games here.
Harry Wilson is edging closer to a return, but this weekend may come too soon for him.
Chelsea
Something feels off with Chelsea right now, even after making progress through to the Conference League Semi Final on Thursday. There are some murmurings that the club are not happy with the performance of Enzo Maresca as manager with Chelsea losing momentum in their bid to return to the Champions League and suffering a home loss to Legia Warsaw on Thursday that had club captain Reece James criticising the team.
The manager has not been unhappy about hearing those criticisms and he will be hoping it can inspire Chelsea in their bid to finish in the top five. Four months ago there was a feeling that Chelsea could be a title challenger so missing out on the Champions League would feel like an underachievement. The Blues are 6th in the Premier League table, but have all to play for with a point separating them and Manchester City in 5th place.
Chelsea have won 2 of their last 6 games in all competitions, while they have been stumbling in the Premier League with a sole win in 4 in the top flight. They had to fight back from 0-2 down to earn a 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town last weekend, but Enzo Maresca was hugely frustrated that Chelsea had fallen into a two goal deficit hole. Chelsea have won none of their last 8 away Premier League games and had lost 4 in a row before the goalless draw at Brentford.
Romeo Lavia is available this weekend having recovered from a long-term injury issue.
Head to Head
Fulham scored two late goals to win 1-2 at Stamford Bridge and they are looking to complete the League double over Chelsea for the first time.
However, Chelsea have won on 5 of their last 6 visits to Craven Cottage.
Prediction
The recent record that Chelsea have put together against this West London rival at Craven Cottage has to give the players some confidence, but there is not much else to like about the current form.
Credit has to be given to any club reaching a European Semi Final, but it should also be noted that Chelsea have not exactly been mixing with elite company in the Conference League. They have been considered a short priced favourite to win the competition from the outset and Chelsea are still on course to do that.
This will be a boost for Enzo Maresca, but the manager looks to be under some pressure.
After the start made to the campaign, Chelsea's board may consider failure to reach the Champions League a failure and 1 win in 4 Premier League games offers little encouragement for The Blues. That run has seen them slip out of the top five places in the Division and Chelsea have some challenging matches to play, including here this weekend.
Marco Silva will have been frustrated after the 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth and his Fulham team have continued to be a little too inconsistent. Despite that, Fulham are still fighting for a top eight finish, which may see them enter the Conference League next season, and the players have put a solid run together at Craven Cottage.
3 wins in 4 Premier League games at home is decent enough, but Fulham will be even more confident when noting they have beaten Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in that run. Two of those clubs are ahead of Chelsea and there is every chance that Fulham can complete the League double over their West London rivals for the first time in their history.
Backing Fulham at odds against on the Asian Handicap line that returns the stake in the event of a draw looks decent enough value here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Fulham 2-1 Chelsea
