PL Preview: Chelsea v. Fulham

By: Jack | December 24th, 2011

Ah, fixture congestion. A holly, jolly Christmas indeed.

bobby
Will Bob be in the mix?

Chelsea begin this oh so very festive period by hosting Fulham at the Bridge. This represents the first of three games over eight days, a favorable span – which includes Aston Villa (h) and Wolves (a) – that could go far in spreading some holiday cheer around the place.

Schizophrenic Fulham are fresh from being thoroughly snuffed by Manchester United, a day prior to our encouraging 1-1 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Recent form isn’t the greatest barometer here, but we should nevertheless fancy our chances of collecting all three points.

Who: Fulham (est. 1879)
What: Barclays Premier League, Round 18
When: 26 December, 1pm local time (8am EDT)
Where: Stamford Bridge (42,449)
How: Fox Soccer Channel (DirecTV 619, Dish Network 149)

Why: Our next six league games would be considered, by most accounts, very winnable. It seems pivotal then that we open this stretch on a positive note. A win against Fulham, a traditional London rival, not only would be extremely satisfying but also a marker for this key run of matches.

Them
Fulham are weird. Since Nov. 26, the Cottagers have drawn with Arsenal, defeated Liverpool, lost to Swansea, beat Bolton and been thrashed by United. A roller-coast club no doubt.

That being said, they do possess some quality players. Clint Dempsey is the best the Yanks have on offer at the moment. Plus, you know, he’s a bruiser – ask fellow bruiser Phil Jones. Moussa Dembele, though about as quick as a G-Wiz, is a crafty son of a bitch with a ball at his feet. Bryan Ruiz is class.

They are incredibly solid. Yet that’s all you can really say about them. Nothing really stands about this current inclination of Fulham. Not that being solid is an especially bad thing, but it’s not exactly going to push you forward (i.e. European qualification), either.

Us
Spurs was pretty fun, eh? Sure, I would’ve preferred a win but the way in which the team responded to that horrid opening 15 minutes made for sensational viewing. Now, if we could only eradicate these zombified starts to matches we seem to enjoy.

The boys should be buoyed by that performance nevertheless. Ramires unfortunately will miss the match due to suspension because of yellow card accumulation. Beat street. The status of David Luiz remains unclear as the Brazilian defender is still recovering from a slight knee injury. One would hope that he’ll be available to start with Branislav Ivanovic unlikely to be fit after leaving Thursday’s match with an apparent hamstring problem. I don’t think any of us want to Jose Bosingwa in the center of defense again, even if he carved an inspirational figure alongside John Terry on Thursday.

The absence of Ramires probably means we’ll be enduring another afternoon dissecting the ineffective axis known as Frank Meireles. Perhaps these two can find a way to coexist. Please. Up front, Didier Drogba has been all the rage but this game seems to be reaching out for the one they call Nando. Fernando Torres has been alienated in recent weeks, cast aside with a firm facial from Andre Villas-Boas. Nevertheless, we’re going to need the Spaniard to start doing some work – as he did at the start of the season – as soon as possible. This is the time to get him out from the off, and see if he can rekindle the magic. Baby Nando in a manger, son. Or, you know, sell him in January.

Projected XI:

That’s all I got. See you guys back around these parts for our Boxing Day Rant Box. Until then, happy holidays. Carefree, bitches.

Some Related Chelsea Posts:

Category: Chelsea Team News, Fixtures, Match Previews, Premier League

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Chenlsea

Lampard should play on the right and let Meireles play on the left to link up with Mata more. Last game against Wigan, we score when Lampard is off the field is no coincidence. Because Lampard is off the field, Cole got to play an overhead pass, otherwise, Lampard would have demanded the ball on the left and wasted it on a sideway or backward pass. In the game against Wigan, he NEVER made a forward pass to Mata in threatening position, for a fact.

In the game against Spurs, the only goal that we score is from Meireles's forward pass to Drogba, who played a simple bounce to Cole. If Lampard is on the left, he will play a short pass to Ramires or a back pass to Mikel and nothing will happen.
Mateo

why play lampard at all? IMO Ramires is the one who is currently making stuff work, against wigan he didnt play and we played shit.
Chenlsea

Agree, except Ramires is suspended for the Fulham game.
Ray

What I felt while watching the match with Spurs is that we desperately lack quality in midfield. Romeu is young and coming up nice .But Ramires , Raul Meireles and Mikel are just bit part players lacking true quality. Lampard is a tiger old in the tooth.There is nobody who can command the midfield and stamp our authority on the midfield game.

But one person is still a roaring lion although age is catching up fast.What a display by Terry.A true leader and a born fighter.
Sidthecoolkid

well we do have mata... but he isnt enough... we need to strengthen up our midfield, bring in some quality players in jan and in summer... heard rumours about krasic coming over... is he good?? if we get bruyne, that will be brilliant... and robben didnt seem too happy at munich last i checked
Ray

Krasic is hit and miss kind of guy...De Bruyne would be nice..but he has still to mature...and no to Robben ..he is too injury prone.
Devin Anand

Greetings from Barcelona. Every third guy here is a cross between Sex Fiberglass and David Viller. It's gross.

I'm expecting Danny to net once again (please, get him a new contract with the quickness Roman). Also, Nando needs a full 90. No excuses.

All I want for Christmas is a full three points.

One love J. See you in 2012 (when you get your break and I start posting like a madman).

Salut from myself and the missus!

D