Chelsea host Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday hoping to bounce back from last week;s disappointing defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues were beaten 3-1 at Wembley to drop to fourth in the table, seven points behind leaders Manchester City.
Olivier Giroud scored a late consolation for Chelsea, but they never looked like taking anything from the game.
It was the club’s first competitive defeat under new manager Maurizio Sarri and the Italian will be eager to see a positive reaction from his players this weekend.
Fulham head into the game still bottom of the standings, but with their confidence boosted by last week’s 3-2 victory over Southampton.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (2) and Andre Schurrle were on target for Fulham in what was a much-improved performance.
Despite last week’s results Chelsea are priced at Evens to win to nil this weekend, and using this Pointsbet NJ promo code will help punters secure what looks a generous price given the two sides’ respective league positions.
Sarri will hope Eden Hazard is fit to face Fulham after the playmaker pulled out of Thursday’s Europa League match against PAOK Salonika.
The 27-year-old has confirmed he has an ankle injury ahead of the game, which he sustained during the tough battle against Spurs.
Claudio Ranieri goes into his second match as Fulham manager with a couple of injury problems to contend with in midfield.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is carrying a knock, while Kevin McDonald remains sidelined with a muscular injury.
However, left-back Joe Bryan returned to the bench for the visit of Southampton after seven weeks out and may see some game time this weekend.
Chelsea have enjoyed a long period of dominance over Fulham, losing just one of their last 36 meetings in all competitions.
They completed the double over Fulham when the two sides last met in the Premier League back in 2013/14, winning 2-0 at home and 3-1 at Craven Cottage.
With City and Liverpool maintaining a relentless pace at the top of the table it is important that Chelsea don’t slip any further behind in the title race.
Sarri’s side have a favourable run of fixtures during December, with their home match against City on December 8 undoubtedly their toughest test.
Games against Wolverhampton Wanderers (A), Brighton & Hove Albion (A), Leicester City (H), Watford (A) and Crystal Palace (A) should yield a healthy points return, but the Blues must avoid starting a busy month with a slip-up against Fulham.
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