Fulham have really impressed - Potter
Chelsea return to action following a two week break as they host Fulham in the Premier League tonight following a record-breaking January transfer window.
The Blues broke the British transfer record to Enzo Fernandez on deadline and take their spending over £300m for the month with Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana also moving to Stamford Bridge.
Manager Graham Potter must now come up with a solution to fit all of his new incomings into the team and help Chelsea improve on their current 10th place standing in the table. Fulham come into this West London derby sitting above the Blues in the table and the Cottagers have good memories of this clash having won the reverse fixture 2-1 earlier this month.
Marco Silva will be hoping to repeat that result having also strengthened his squad in January with the signings of midfielder Sasa Lukic and Arsenal right-back Cedric Soares who moves to Craven Cottage on a loan deal.
Follow all the action as Chelsea host Fulham at Stamford Bridge:
Chelsea vs Fulham
Fulham have scored a league-high 11 goals from crosses this season, while Chelsea have conceded six of their 21 goals from wide deliveries.
Is that the best area for Fulham to target the Blues tonight?
A Friday night victory?
This is Chelsea’s first Friday fixture in the league since a 1-0 win at West Brom in May 2017. Will they get themselves another victory tonight?
Chelsea vs Fulham
Six of Fulham’s eight league defeats this season have been by a single-goal margin, including each the last four. The Cottagers have managed to keep themselves in games and now just need to get themselves over the line more often.
Will Chelsea keep a clean sheet?
Chelsea are the only side yet to concede a first-half goal at home in the Premier League this season. Can they convert that defensive stability into the second half and keep a clean sheet tonight?
Graham Potter reveals Chelsea ‘ambition’ after record transfer window
Graham Potter has described circumstances at Chelsea so far this season as “sub-optimal” but says it is now an “exciting” time for the club after an expenditure of over £300m in the January transfer window.
Potter did admit that he has been faced with “tough decisions” in selecting the 25-man squad for the Champions League squad, but described the club’s general policy as a “regeneration” that is also aimed to deliver results now.
It does increase the pressure on a group that finds itself 10th in the Premier League table despite Chelsea’s transfer business, amid a series of injuries and changes as Potter himself has adjusted to a new club.
Potter also praised record signing Enzo Fernandez and dimissed suggestions that his £106m price was a ‘gamble’
Fulham’s fantastic start
Fulham are one short of equalling the club Premier League record of five away victories in a season, set in 2003/04.
They are vying to win a fourth top-flight London derby for the first time in a single campaign.
Can Potter turn around Chelsea’s fortunes?
Chelsea have only won two of their last 11 league games under Graham Potter, earning 10 points and scoring just seven goals.
They are winless in all nine Premier League matches this season against the teams currently above them in the table. Fulham are seventh, two points above the Blues.
Chelsea spending a show of ‘power and ambition’ to Premier League rivals, says Marco Silva
Marco Silva believes Chelsea’s flurry of signings in the January transfer window shows their “power” and “ambition” as a force within English football.
The Blues were the biggest spenders during the January transfer window, as Todd Boehly’s consortium shelled out in excess of £300million including a British record deal for Enzo Fernandez.
Silva believes the amount of money spent by Fulham’s local rivals, ahead of the meeting between the two sides at Stamford Bridge on Friday, is not a new phenomenon.
Fulham’s local rivals spent in excess of £300million during the recent transfer window
Chelsea vs Fulham team changes
Graham Potter makes three changes to the Chelsea team that drew 0-0 with Liverpool in their previous outing. Trevoh Chalobah and Lewis Hall drop out and Jorginho has joined Arsenal in the January transfer window.
In come Reece James, Mykhailo Mudryk and new signing Enzo Fernandez makes his debut.
Marco Silva meanwhile names an unchanged Fulham team to the one that lost to Tottenham last time out.
