Chelsea vs Fulham : Lineups and LIVE updates

This weekend's Premier League action begins with the West London derby, as free-spenders Chelsea welcome Fulham to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were anything but frugal in their transfer dealings this past January transfer window. Big-money high-profile signings, long contracts, and dizzying spending levels, Blues' American owners have truly taken the football world by storm, with heads spinning in the offices of every top club across Europe.

The Blues spent over £300m in the winter transfer window which culminated with the Premier League record signing of 2022 World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez for £115m from Portuguese giants, Benfica in the final hour of the deadline day.

Added to that were Mykhailo Mudryk for £88.5m, Benoit Badiashile for £35m, Noni Madueke for £29m and Malo Gusto for £26m. And they are just the major permanent ones, we haven't counted the likes of Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, and Joao Felix (loan).

Every time a new player arrives, the same question comes up: how on earth are Chelsea making this work under FFP's watch?

Nevertheless, back to the matters on the pitch, Graham Potter seemed to be in big trouble after going on a run of just one win in 11 domestic games.

However, a win over Crystal Palace and a 0-0 stalemate at Anfield in the following weeks appeared to have eased the pressure on the manager, but this is yet another must-win encounter for a club in the limelight due to their recent spending spree but is still in 10th place in the table.

Fulham, who spent a modest £8m on Torino midfielder Sasa Lukic in January, have suffered back-to-back losses in the Premier League but remain seventh in the table, two points ahead of their Friday's opponents. Two narrow 1-0 defeats to in-form Newcastle United and Spurs wouldn't have harmed their confidence much.

Having beaten the Blues 2-1 in the reverse fixture in January, the Cottagers are eyeing a first ever league double over their much-esteemed London rivals.

The visitors have performed admirably in this overachieving season, and are under no pressure to play it safe to collect vital points, so they will fancy their chances when they make the short trip to Stamford Bridge this Friday.

Chelsea vs Fulham confirmed lineups

Chelsea XI (4-3-3): Kepa; James, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Cucurella; Mount, Fernandez, Gallagher; Ziyech, Havertz, Mudryk

Fulham XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Mitrovic

Chelsea vs Fulham LIVE updates

Chelsea's upcoming fixtures

After fronting Fulham, Chelsea will visit the London Stadium to take on relegation-battlers West Ham United in yet another London derby next weekend, followed by an away trip to Signal Iduna Park to go head-to-head with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16 first leg.