English Premier
2025-08-30 - Chelsea vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 30th August 2025 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
It has been another summer of heavy financial investment in the playing squad and Chelsea may yet have more deals to conclude before the transfer window closes until January. Winning the Club World Cup will have raised expectations around a team that finished 4th in the Premier League last season and 15 points behind Champions Liverpool, but that is what Enzo Maresca would have signed up for.
His team have made a decent enough start to the season with 4 points on the board and Chelsea can take over at the summit of the Premier League, for a few hours at least, this weekend. The Blues were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace in the home opener, but a big win at the home of rivals West Ham United will have provided the Chelsea squad with a boost in confidence.
Chelsea's win at the London Stadium means they have lost 1 of their last 12 games in all competitions and they have picked up 9 wins in normal time in that run. The side are unbeaten in 11 Premier League games at Stamford Bridge and 8 of those matches have ended in victory.
Cole Palmer was withdrawn in the warm up in East London last Friday and he is considered a doubt.
Fulham
A comfortable win over Bristol City has earned Fulham a place in the League Cup Third Round and this is an important week for the club to try and ensure manager Marco Silva feels he has a squad that can compete in the Premier League. Nothing is wrong with the character of the players who have fought back to earn draws in both League games this month, but Silva believes some freshness is needed to push Fulham forward.
Only seven of the twenty Premier League clubs have yet to suffer a defeat through the first couple of rounds of fixtures, but Fulham are one of those and that will give the team some belief in this West London derby. They did need a very late goal to earn a 1-1 draw at Brighton on the opening weekend and Fulham came from behind to do the same against Manchester United last Sunday.
Fulham ended the last campaign with 8 losses in 12 games in all competitions, although they did win the other 4 matches played in that poor run. They have opened this season unbeaten in 3 games in all competitions with the win over Bristol City being the first of the 2025/26 campaign. Fulham will take some confidence from the fact they have lost 1 of their last 4 away Premier Leagues and won twice in that time.
There are no injury concerns in the Fulham squad.
Head to Head
Both Premier League games were won by the away team by the same 1-2 scoreline last season.
The home team actually scored first in both of those matches.
Chelsea had won 4 of 5 home derby games against Fulham before that loss on Boxing Day.
Prediction
The West London derby opens the Premier League weekend after the Friday night football game between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace had to be pushed back until Sunday evening.
Both Chelsea and Fulham have to be feeling pretty happy with the starts made to the season, although it is the home team who have been able to flex their financial muscle once again in this transfer window.
Marco Silva has urged the board to bring in some more bodies to strengthen the squad, but his current team have continued to put in the hard yards for the manager and have fought back for positive Premier League results this month. The Fulham win over Bristol City in the League Cup Second Round will give the team a bit more momentum, while they continue to be a tough nut to crack away from home.
Cole Palmer's absence from the starting eleven did not prevent Chelsea crushing West Ham United at the London Stadium, but this is going to be a tougher match.
Despite that, Chelsea should still have enough in the final third to create chances and ultimately get the better of Fulham. A wasteful display was perhaps the reason they allowed this West London rival to fight back and win here 1-2 on Boxing Day, but Chelsea have signed the likes of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap to add goals to their game and this could see them edge out Fulham.
Chelsea have put a strong run together at Stamford Bridge across either side of the off-season and this momentum could see them get the better of this rival.
As much as they should respect the resilience of Fulham, Chelsea should also have noted the chances that Brighton and Manchester United have created against them. Enzo Maresca has to believe his Chelsea team have greater threats in the final third, even without Cole Palmer, and The Blues can score at least twice on their way to the maximum points.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 2-0 Fulham
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Chelsea to Win & Over 1 Total Goal (Bet Builder) at 1.75 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)
