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Nizaar Kinsella

Chelsea Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Fulham

The Blues are in the midst of a busy period and will continue to try and arrest a slide in form against their local rivals

Chelsea face Fulham in their second successive Premier League derby match, as they look to continue their recovery from a recent 3-1 loss against Tottenham at Wembley Stadium.

The defeat against Tottenham saw Chelsea drop to fourth place, with Arsenal just one point behind them in fifth, as a title challenge in the 2018-19 season looks increasingly unlikely in Maurizio Sarri's first season.

A top four finish remains Chelsea's main aim but Fulham need the points at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, as ex-Blues manager Claudio Ranieri wants to build on his 3-2 win over Southampton with another positive result in his second game in charge of the Cottagers.

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Chelsea Injuries

Chelsea are preparing to welcome back Eden Hazard, who sat out the recent Europa League clash with PAOK to recover from an ankle injury that he sustained against Spurs.

Victor Moses is also a doubt with a back problem, but Chelsea are thought to have no other injuries, with Ethan Ampadu having returned to training this week after getting a knock on international duty with Wales. Victor Moses Chelsea 2018-19

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Chelsea Suspensions

Neither Chelsea nor Fulham have any players out with suspensions ahead of Sunday's clash, while there are no players in danger of bans should they pick up yellow cards. N'Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger have the most bookings this season for the Blues with three apiece.

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Chelsea Potential Starting Line-Up

Chelsea will put out their strongest side once again having been able to rest a host of players in the Europa League, with 10 of the players who started against Tottenham rested for Thursday's match.

Hazard will likely return to play on the left wing with Willian and Pedro to battle it out for the other wide berth. Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley will continue to try to establish themselves as the third midfielder alongside both Jorginho and Kante.

The goalkeeper and backline is likely to remain unchanged from the 3-1 defeat against Spurs, despite Sarri labelling his side's defending against Tottenham as a "disaster".

Fulham Team News

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Kevin McDonald are both expected to be out with knocks for Fulham. However, Ranieri will be happy to have no other injuries ahead of Sunday's match.

TV channel & kick-off time

The match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 12:00 GMT on Sunday and it will be shown on SkySports in the UK.

Best Opta Match Facts

Chelsea have only lost one of their 26 Premier League matches against Fulham (W15 D10), a 0-1 defeat in March 2006.
Fulham have won just one of their 24 away top-flight matches against Chelsea (D9 L14), a 2-1 victory in March 1964 under manager Bedford Jezzard.
This is the first Premier League encounter between Chelsea and Fulham since March 2014, when current Fulham player Andre Schurrle scored a hat-trick for the Blues in a 3-1 win.
If Andre Schurrle scores for Fulham, he’ll be the fourth player to have scored for and against Chelsea in a specific Premier League London derby match, after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea vs Charlton), William Gallas (Chelsea vs Spurs) and Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea vs Arsenal).
Managers who’ve previously managed Chelsea in the Premier League have never returned to Stamford Bridge and won in 13 attempts (D5 L8), with Claudio Ranieri managing two of those games (D1 L1).