Very hard to forget just how poor Chelsea were last Sunday when beaten 1-0 by Liverpool at Stamford Bridge and now they’ve a real fight on their hands to secure a top four place.
Missing out on the riches of Champions League football next season would be catastrophic for the west London club and their near neighbours Fulham would love to inflict more pain on the Roman Abramovich project on Monday.
The deadline day signing of Fernando Torres strongly suggested that the Russian billionaire was ready to splash the cash once more in a bid to secure Europe’s biggest prize this term but ensuring they have a chance of competing for it next year is the priority and Chelsea could struggle once again at Craven Cottage.
After a blistering start to the campaign, which saw Chelsea roar five points clear in the early stages, their Premier League form since has been patchy, at best, and it is now just five wins in the top flight since the first week of November.
That’s a run of 15 matches against England’s best and even recent away triumphs at Bolton and Sunderland, scoring four goals on both occasions, is not enough to convince me to take the odds on about Chelsea winning on Monday.
The capture of Torres will undoubtedly bear fruit in the future but it may not be until Didier Drogba departs before we really see the best of the Spanish striker in a blue shirt and I’ve huge doubts about the pair’s likely effectiveness as a partnership. Chelsea play with no width, so very evident in defeat to the Anfield club, and Carlo Ancelotti needs to devise a system asap that brings the best out of his key men if they are to finish the campaign with the required flourish.
Chelsea face a Fulham team that have risen to 12th in the table following a string of excellent results and there was plenty to like about their 2-2 draw at in-form Aston Villa last time out.
It’s Fulham’s recent home form that has seen them upwardly mobile however and success on Monday would be their sixth in a row in front of their own fans.
Having scored 16 goals in their previous half dozen matches at Craven Cottage, and with Chelsea’s far from watertight defence on show, I see goals on Monday and a score draw looks the most likely result.
Mark Hughes’ men having nothing to fear from their more celebrated opponents however and they could just nick it in what should prove a really entertaining clash.
3pts Lay Chelsea (vs. Fulham) @ 1.78 (Betfair)