It’s a London Derby between two teams that badly need a win when Chelsea FC visit Fulham on Saturday. The Blues come in 10 points behind top of the table Manchester United, and to be quite frank, Mr. Lampard doesn’t seem to be managing a title contending team this season.
In fact, Frank Lampard really needs to get his side moving in the right direction, and fast, because in order to reach the top four, they have a handful of teams to surpass.
Chelsea at Fulham FYIs
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Kick off: 5:30pm GMT, Sat Jan 16, Craven Cottage
TV (US)/Online: NBC/NBCSports.com
Odds: Fulham win +600 Draw +333 Chelsea win -223
Premier League Position: Chelsea 9th, 26 pts Fulham 18th, 12 pts
Premier League Form Guide: Chelsea LDLWL, Fulham DDDDD
As for Fulham, they currently sit in the last drop zone slot and they are two points behind the pace for safety. So both sides in this match are not living up to expectations right now.
Team News
We start with Chelsea that have three players who are a doubt for this match: midfielder N’Golo Kante (hamstring) and defenders Reece James (thigh) and Andreas Christensen (knee). Thus Lampard may have some selection issues in the back to sort out.
While Fulham come in as heavy underdogs, they do have another advantage, in addition to the home pitch advantage. The Craven Cottagers have a nearly fully fit squad. They played Tottenham Hotspur to a draw last night, much to the chagrin of Spurs boss Jose Mourinho. The 1-1 draw was also preceded but a good old-fashioned mini-row between the managers.
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Fulham 0
The hosts are no easy out, as we just saw in midweek, but Lampard has to have his team motivated now. If he doesn’t, his time at the club will soon be running out.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.