Chelsea are looking to revive their struggling campaign for a Champions League spot as they head to Craven Cottage to face ninth-placed Fulham in their 33rd Premier League match of the season this Sunday.
Fulham, coming off a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth on Monday, sit on 48 points—six behind Chelsea, who hold sixth place after a frustrating 2-2 stalemate against Ipswich Town last weekend.
The Cottagers’ defeat to Bournemouth was sealed by Antoine Semenyo’s goal just seconds into the match, marking the fourth straight game in which Fulham have allowed the first goal.
Marco Silva, Fulham’s manager, must be exasperated with his team’s inconsistent Premier League results. The hosts have toggled between wins and losses over their last seven league games, losing 12 points in the process.
Despite their up-and-down form, Fulham still have a slim shot at European qualification. They trail seventh-placed Aston Villa by six points, and that position could secure at least a Conference League berth, with a chance at the Europa League.
To mount a late push for Europe, Fulham need to shore up their defense, having leaked eight goals in their past four matches while drawing blanks in two of those.
At home, Silva’s squad have been unpredictable, alternating wins and losses over their last seven games at Craven Cottage, though they’ve managed to beat strong sides like Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, and Tottenham in that stretch.
Chelsea, meanwhile, had to claw back a point against relegation-threatened Ipswich after trailing 2-0 at halftime. Notably, their 34 shots in that game were nearly double their season average of 16.4 per 90 minutes.
The Blues also faced a 2-1 defeat to Legia Warsaw in the second leg of their Conference League quarter-final on Thursday but progressed to the semi-finals thanks to a 3-0 win in the first leg on April 10.
Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s manager, has been under fire during the latter half of the season, but his team are just one point shy of fifth-placed Manchester City, who currently hold the final Champions League qualification spot.
