Fulham VS Chelsea Preview – Premier league 2026/27 | OneFootball

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Chelsea The Blues

Analysis

By Subscribe August 23, 2026 · 6 min read

The new Premier League is nearly upon us, and Gameweek 1 presents a fiery West London derby to start us off with. Chelsea comes into the clash as favorites, but Fulham has made a few smart signings, and Arbeloa’s side will be looking to cause an upset.

Head-to-Head Record

Chelsea has dominated the head-to-head stats, winning 49 all-time league matches to Fulham’s 10. Despite this, Fulham have won 2 of the last 5 meetings, prevailing in their last meeting, with Chelsea winning the rest. There has not been a draw in the last seven meetings between these two clubs. The recent stats make for a much more even outlook, but it remains to be seen if The Blues’ big-time spending this summer will leave Fulham in the dust or not.

Current Form

Chelsea comes off the back of an interesting preseason, with their final game being a 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge. However, they have won only 3 of their 6 preseason fixtures, drawing 1, with poor performances against Juventus, Spurs, and JDT of Malaysia raising early question marks for a few people.

However, for many of these games they were without a few star players, and the win against Sociedad showcased what a force they can be when their whole squad is fit.

Fulham had a worse time than Chelsea in preseason, winning only 2 of their 6 games, including a 2-0 loss to Championship side Norwich City. They drew against Al-Ahli and Malaga, losing 2-1 to fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace. However, they built momentum going into the new season with a 1-0 triumph over Stuttgart. Their dominant performance against the German side bodes well coming into their first match of the season, with Alvaro Arbeloa hoping for a statement win in a huge derby.

Chelsea must be careful not to slip up, as recent results have shown that Fulham can cause a surprise if the Blues let their guard down. With the two most recent Real Madrid coaches facing off in the first game of the season, which one will bounce back after lackluster stints in Spain?

Injury News

Chelsea has no current injuries, but one player is suspended, with Fulham looking slightly worse off.

Chelsea Injuries

Fulham Injuries

Predicted Lineups

Fulham Lineup: Leno, Bassey, Cuenca, Robinson, Castagne, King, Berge, Iwobi, Bobb, Palacios, Gonzalez

Chelsea Lineup: Sanchez, Hato, James, Colwill, Lacroix, Fernandez, Caicedo, Palmer, Rogers, Neto, Pedro

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Fulham VS Chelsea: Tactical Approach & Key Battles

Fulham’s Approach

Arbeloa has outlined his desire to be “brave with the ball” against Chelsea, so we can expect Fulham to be aggressive and try to surprise the Blues with some fluid play.

Primarily, Arbeloa sets up in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, opting for midfield numbers over pinging it around the defense. Despite this, Fulham’s pre-season matches have often seen players drop into defense to create a temporary 3-2 build-up, then spring back into place to get on the attack.

Usually this player is Sander Berge, but Alex Iwobi also dropped in to help build-up. Fulham have also been playing a pretty high line, showing willingness to counter-press and dominate the ball. Antonee Robinson has looked dangerous, pushing very high up and letting the left winger drop inside. He could be the key difference on Monday with his positivity and pace on the attack.

Fulham have also shown fluidity out of possession, pressing more than we have seen them do under Marco Silva. This shows that Arbeloa has come in to instill the mentality of a top side in these players. Fulham will press Chelsea in a 4-4-2, with Garcia and Palacios leading and Iwobi joining them to press the third center-back if needed.

A flat back 4 could be an issue though, as Chelsea will likely attack with 5 forwards, meaning Berge will have to drop in and mark one of Pedro, Rogers, or Palmer. Fulham should look to trigger a press when Sanchez is in prolonged possession, as we have seen the Spaniard make numerous errors when under pressure over the years.

Chelsea’s Approach

Xabi Alonso had a much more complete squad in his final pre-season fixture against Real Sociedad, so this gave a clearer idea of how Chelsea may set up on Monday.

Alonso will opt for an initial 5-4-1 approach off the ball, with Palmer and Rogers pressing in a flat midfield 4 with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Chelsea’s deadly press has been seen in the preseason, and we can expect this to continue on Monday. This will move into more of a 3-2-5 in possession.

Alonso likes to push his wingbacks high and use his center-backs as the backbone of their build-up play. Levi Colwill especially lends himself to this style, with his passing range likely to be crucial to Chelsea’s build-up. Pedro Neto was seen as one of the wingbacks against Sociedad, and the same can be expected here.

With the lineup proposed, Alonso’s initial 3 will be Colwill as the left center-back, Lacroix as the central center-back, and then Reece James as the right center-back. The wing-backs, Jorrel Hato and Pedro Neto, will get forward to support the attack, with the combinations running through a Fernandez-Caicedo pivot.

Cole Palmer and huge-money signing Morgan Rogers will tuck in, receiving the ball from the pivot and supporting Joao Pedro. It is also possible that Hato drops into the 3, then James moves into midfield next to Caicedo as Fernandez plays higher up. Arbeloa’s Fulham may find it difficult to cope with Chelsea’s attacking numbers should they opt for a 4-4-2 out of possession.

Key Battles

Predicted Scoreline

Fulham 1-3 Chelsea

Xabi Alonso shows no mercy to his good friend and kicks off the season with 3 points in the West London derby. Watch the game live on Sky Sports Main Event on Monday, 24th August, at 8:00pm.