Chelsea vs Fulham specials
As league action swings back into gear after the Emirates FA Cup, Premier League Gameweek 22 kicks off on Friday night as Chelsea host Fulham in a west London derby.
In the season’s return fixture from January 12, when the two last met less than a month ago, Fulham came out on top at Craven Cottage as a 10-man Blues saw loan debutante Joao Felix sent off.
Since then, the Todd Boehly revolution has swung into top gear with a total £320m January spend bringing yet another new squad to the Kings’ Road.
So can Chelsea exact revenge on the Whites at Stamford Bridge or will Fulham do the double over their opponents? We’ve been taking a look at the markets.
Fulham currently sit two points above their hosts on Friday night – albeit having played a game more. Avoiding defeat will keep Marco Silva and his men on their quest for Europe but Chelsea are strong 4/6 favourites. Though we cannot see another Fulham win, the draw at 16/5 with SpreadEx is most inviting.
In terms of a scoreline, since the arrival of Benoit Badiashile from AS Monaco, Chelsea have kept back-to-back clean sheets and with Kepa in goal look a tougher nut to crack than with the oft-wandering Kalidou Koulibaly in the back line. Could the Blues keep a shutout and furthermore win to nil? 7/4 odds with BoyleSports await.
The most pressing question on the lips of home fans will be whether British transfer record addition Enzo Fernandez plays a part here. If he does, it will surely be fleeting.
Instead, in the case of Mykhaylo Mudryk, the Ukrainian is expected to make his full league debut and having shown glimpses of magic in coming on against Liverpool last time out, Mudryk is 9/5 with Betway to score anytime, or alternatively, is a boosted 8/1 from 11/2 with William Hill to score first.
For Fulham, eyes may be on Aleksandar Mitrovic to break his short-term scoring drought but we might have our money on a former Chelsea favourite in Willian to find the net at the Bridge, as he has so often done for his former employers.
At 8/1 with SportingIndex for Willian to score, or returning to William Hill, a 5/1 price from 7/2 for the Brazilian to have just 1+ SOT, both are on the table and intriguing.
If punters are looking for a strong candidate for a player to be carded meanwhile, Joao Palhinha looks an excellent punt.
A player who has transformed Fulham’s midfield this season, the Portuguese has the most successful tackles in the Premier League this term but also the joint most bookings received. For Palhinha to carded on Friday, a 9/4 shot with PaddyPowerlooks a good bet.
Finally, we know you all like your combined acca bets and here, for over 2 goals to be scored, over 3 cards to be shown and the match to have over 10 corners looks very decent value at 11/2 as a third shot with ‘Hills.
