Fulham will entertain Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Monday within the Premier League, with each groups hoping to stroll away with the West London bragging rights.

The Cottagers have picked up eight factors from their opening six video games and sit in eleventh spot. They head into the derby off the again of a 2-1 house success over Norwich Metropolis within the Carabao Cup third spherical in midweek.

In the meantime, the Blues lie 4 locations beneath their West London rivals with simply 5 factors amassed from six video games. They bounced again to successful methods in midweek by dumping Brighton out of the Carabao Cup, beating Roberto de Zerbi’s aspect 3-1 at house. Mauricio Pochettino has had a glut of accidents to deal with with and as soon as once more has absentees in double digits heading into the sport on Monday.

With a feisty affair at Craven Cottage anticipated, listed below are three key battles on the pitch that might outline the end result of this Premier League fixture.

#Raheem Sterling vs Fulham centre-backs

With Nicolas Jackson suspended owing to an accumulation of bookings, Mauricio Pochettino solely has Armando Broja as his recognised senior centre-forward, however the Albanian continues to be working his manner again to full health following a protracted damage layoff. Because of this, Raheem Sterling could possibly be deployed by means of the center towards Fulham.

Sterling is an clever ahead who operated as a false 9 to nice impact on many events at his former membership Manchester Metropolis. With Mykhaylo Mudryk and Cole Palmer anticipated to start out on both aspect of him, the England worldwide may get alternatives to run the channels and create chaos for the Fulham backline.

Fulham should conjure a plan to cease him on Monday. Issa Diop and Tim Ream ought to line up in central defence and the duo should be targeted all through the sport to maintain Sterling at bay. How Diop and Ream take care of Sterling’s tempo and motion might be intriguing to observe.

#Enzo Fernandez vs Joao Palhinha

Enzo Fernandez is a technically gifted midfielder and will hassle Fulham on this conflict given his excellent experience and studying of the sport. With Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher behind him, the Argentina worldwide will get the license to occupy pockets of areas from the No.10 position and use his passing potential to tug the strings for Chelsea.

That is the place Joao Palhinha is available in for Fulham, as he efficiently stopped quite a few prime gamers since arriving within the Premier League final 12 months. A tenacious tackler and ball-winner, the Portuguese will sit on the base of the midfield and mop up issues for the hosts. He’ll face an enormous check of conserving Fernandez quiet, and if Palhinha manages to take action, Fulham’s possibilities of successful the West London derby will turn out to be larger.

#Willian vs Axel Disasi

Willian stood out in Fulham’s 2-1 win over Norwich Metropolis within the Carabao Cup third spherical in midweek, exhibiting glimpses of the shape that made him a fan favorite in seven years at Chelsea. After a disruptive begin to the season, owing to damage points and hyperlinks with a transfer to Saudi Arabia, the Brazilian winger’s performances have improved for Marco Silva’s aspect within the final two video games.

Because of this, the 35-year-old is predicted to start out on the left flank, and he’ll attempt to get one over his former employers. Chelsea are hamstrung with quite a few accidents on the again, in addition to with Malo Gusto suspended, Axel Disasi could possibly be trusted to start out at right-back towards Fulham.

Disasi has began all of Chelsea’s league fixtures, scoring a objective, however he’ll face a difficult check towards Willian on his flank. The Frenchman has operated at right-back for his former membership Monaco on quite a few events and he’ll look to convey that have right here when going through the Fulham winger. Nonetheless, he’s anticipated to have his arms full within the derby.

I’m Rohan Sengupta from one of many busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a eager curiosity in sports activities, soccer is one thing I merely can not reside with out and writing, discussing and analyzing the sport is what I do 24*7.