Premier League: Chelsea vs. Fulham: Preview, squad news, and how to watch…

Every Chelsea loss appears to trigger a (not so little) existential crisis, but even if things are exaggerated a little, Mauricio Pochettino is under increasing pressure to deliver not just wins but also the anticipated improvement in our performance. We can only trust the process if it results in something we can trust, as we have stated numerous times over the past 18 months. Belief by itself is insufficient these days, for sure.

Not that it relates to anything, really.

Apart from my personal disposition and frame of mind, this past week has witnessed significant coaching departures in the American football scene, involving three living legends: Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, and Pete Carroll. This could be interpreted as a cosmic reminder that your performance in any professional sport is ultimately what matters, and that allegiances are subject to change (kudos to Kalen DeBoer).

Regardless, declaring a game as a must-win feels a little bit overly dramatic given our five-game winning streak over the past seven. Everywhere else has enough drama already.

News about the Chelsea team:The good news is that Carney Chukwuemeka is very close, while Ben Chilwell and Benoît Badiashile are expected to return to the matchday squad (probably as benches). The

Chelsea may have lost five of our last six away from home, but we’ve won five in a row at the Bridge in all competitions and have only lost once since late September. It’s not quite a fortress, but we may not be blown down by every other random bad wolf anymore.

News about the Fulham team: We managed to win once away from home, at Craven Cottage in early October. Although Fulham, who are now four points below us in 13th place, have won five games (including one against Arsenal), lost seven, and drawn one since then, they have not experienced a win on the road in a streak of nine Premier League games. Similar like Chelsea, they have advanced to the League Cup semifinals and suffered a one-goal defeat in the away leg. They fell to the Premier League leaders as opposed to some unidentified midtable Championship team, unlike Chelsea.

Willian, who is still a productive player at this age of 35, scored Fulham’s only goal in that Liverpool match.

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