Thursday’s Top Tips: Blues Can Find Forgotten Form at Fulham

Graham Potter could hardly have had a more difficult start to his tenure at Chelsea but despite a run of just one win in seven he still has the backing of the Blues' board.

It all started promisingly, unbeaten in his first nine games and guiding Chelsea to four wins and a draw in the Champions League but domestically it's all gone to ‘Pot'. Injuries have mounted up and a paucity in front of goal has left them looking impotent at times.

In fairness, fixtures have been tough recently with games against the likes of Arsenal (1st in the Premier League), three against Manchester City (2nd) and an in-form Newcastle (3rd), all of which ended in defeat, have contributed to six lossess in nine games in all competitions for the Blues.

Those nine games have yielded just six goals but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Potter added the exciting 23-year-old Joao Felix to the squad yesterday in a loan move until the end of the season. He follows Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos in joining Chelsea during the January transfer window.

But tonight's short trip to Craven Cottage also falls in to the dangerous category for Potter. It's a fixture that Chelsea have dominated of late, winning each of their last seven meetings, and losing just one of 30 Premier League meetings, but seldom will they have they gone in to this clash with Fulham above them in the table at this stage of the season.

The Cottagers are on a run of four wins on the bounce, so confidence will be sky high. They've only tasted defeat in two of their last 10 matches, those against either half of Manchester and each defeat to an injury-time goal, making them one of the form teams in the division.

With that in mind it's hard to fathom why Fulham are 23/10 outsiders of the two, and Chelsea are as short as 23/20. That is until you factor in that Aleksander Mitrovic is suspended for Marco Silva's side.

The talismanic Serbian striker is Fulham's top scorer having netted over a third of the Cottagers' league goals this season but most notable is the fact that they've lost all three league games this season in which he hasn't played.

His absence could put things back in Chelsea's favour, even more so if they can get clearance in time for the aforementioned Felix to feature. His arrival could be the boost they need in the final third right now.

On balance, Chelsea don't lose too often to Fulham, their bad run of form has come against the league's top teams, new faces could provide a welcome boost and Mitrovic's absence could be crucial so we'll go with Chelsea to shade this one at 23/20.

Super Singles

• Chelsea 23/20 Bet365

Upcoming Match Previews & Tips

• Thu 20:00 Fulham vs Chelsea

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