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- Jul 14, 2025
Fulham vs Chelsea
England, Premier League, Craven Cottage, 22:00 CEST
Craven Cottage closes Premier League matchday 1 on Monday night with the West London derby, and Fulham vs Chelsea is a genuine curiosity because both clubs have changed manager and both are being coached by former Real Madrid teammates. Alvaro Arbeloa takes over at Fulham after Marco Silva's five-year spell ended, and the Spaniard arrives with only 28 senior games of management behind him plus the immediate problem of replacing Harry Wilson, sold to Leeds United. Fulham have recruited young, bringing in Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from Real Madrid alongside 19-year-old Jonah Kusi-Asare and 22-year-old Shea Charles, and Alvaro Arbeloa is without Tom Cairney through injury while Joachim Andersen serves a suspension carried over from last season. Fulham's summer read two wins, one draw and two defeats, closing with a 1-0 win over VfB Stuttgart on 15 August after a 2-2 draw at Malaga and a 1-2 home loss to Crystal Palace, seven scored and six conceded. Chelsea meanwhile have handed the job to Xabi Alonso in place of Liam Rosenior and then spent like nobody else, with roughly 333 million pounds committed this window including a 117 million British record fee for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, plus Valentin Barco, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra and Geovany Quenda, and experience in Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson. Xabi Alonso has a long absentee list though, with Jordan Henderson, Geovany Quenda, Emanuel Emegha, Mamadou Sarr, Aaron Anselmino and Caleb Wiley all out and Wesley Fofana suspended. Chelsea also went two wins, one draw and two defeats in pre-season, hammering AC Milan 3-0 and beating Real Sociedad 3-1 on 15 August either side of losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus, ten scored and seven conceded. Fulham and Chelsea finished level on 52 points last season, Chelsea tenth and Fulham eleventh on goal difference, and head to head Chelsea have won six of their last eight visits to Craven Cottage, though after losing the last meeting 2-1 here in January Chelsea risk losing back to back derbies for the first time since 1979.
BetBrain Fulham vs Chelsea betting insights:
Chelsea Draw No Bet The cleanest way to back the visitors is with the draw taken out, because the squad gap here is enormous and the price is fair rather than short. Chelsea have won six of their last eight trips to Craven Cottage, and Xabi Alonso can name Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Moises Caicedo and Reece James in the same eleven off the back of a 333 million pound summer. Alvaro Arbeloa is 28 games into a management career, missing Tom Cairney and Joachim Andersen and replacing Harry Wilson's creativity with untested 19 and 22-year-olds, which is a lot to ask on your first competitive night in the Premier League. Getting your stake back if Fulham grind out a draw is exactly the right protection in a derby that has produced narrow scorelines in four of the last five meetings.
Morgan Rogers To Score Or Assist The player angle is the most expensive footballer in British history walking out for his competitive Chelsea debut. Morgan Rogers cost 117 million pounds from Aston Villa precisely because he does both jobs, arriving in the box to finish and picking the pass in the final third, and Xabi Alonso's likely 3-4-2-1 puts him alongside Cole Palmer directly behind Joao Pedro in the zone where Fulham are weakest. Fulham conceded in four of their last five warm-up games and will be defending with Calvin Bassey and Jorge Cuenca rather than the suspended Joachim Andersen, so the space between the lines will be there. Score or assist rather than anytime scorer is the better shape of bet for a player whose whole value is being involved in the goal rather than always finishing it.
Chelsea To Win And Both Teams To Score The value combination is Chelsea taking the three points in an untidy game rather than a clean one. Fulham have scored in four of their last five and Craven Cottage on a Monday night with a new manager and a crowd that remembers beating Chelsea 2-1 in January will produce at least one moment for Gonzalo Garcia or Josh King. Chelsea's own defence is not settled either, with Wesley Fofana suspended, Mamadou Sarr out and Maxence Lacroix only just arriving, and Chelsea conceded seven across their last five including three to Johor Darul Ta'zim. Four of the last five meetings here produced goals at both ends or a one-goal margin, so a Chelsea win with Fulham on the scoresheet is the most likely version of a Chelsea win, and the combination price at better than 3.50 pays properly for it.
Top Fulham vs Chelsea betting tips from BetBrain experts
Chelsea Draw No Bet - at 1.52
Morgan Rogers To Score Or Assist - at 2.10
Chelsea To Win And Both Teams To Score - at 3.60
The likeliest story at Craven Cottage is a tight, tense derby where Fulham stay compact for an hour, Chelsea's individual quality eventually breaks it open through Morgan Rogers or Cole Palmer, and Fulham get one back late to make the finish uncomfortable. A 1-2 for Chelsea lines all three picks up cleanly, landing the Draw No Bet, giving Morgan Rogers his goal or assist and delivering the win with both teams scoring. Fulham vs Chelsea under the Monday night lights is the right way to close Premier League matchday 1, and with Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso in opposite technical areas nobody really knows what these two sides are yet.
England, Premier League, Craven Cottage, 22:00 CEST
Craven Cottage closes Premier League matchday 1 on Monday night with the West London derby, and Fulham vs Chelsea is a genuine curiosity because both clubs have changed manager and both are being coached by former Real Madrid teammates. Alvaro Arbeloa takes over at Fulham after Marco Silva's five-year spell ended, and the Spaniard arrives with only 28 senior games of management behind him plus the immediate problem of replacing Harry Wilson, sold to Leeds United. Fulham have recruited young, bringing in Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from Real Madrid alongside 19-year-old Jonah Kusi-Asare and 22-year-old Shea Charles, and Alvaro Arbeloa is without Tom Cairney through injury while Joachim Andersen serves a suspension carried over from last season. Fulham's summer read two wins, one draw and two defeats, closing with a 1-0 win over VfB Stuttgart on 15 August after a 2-2 draw at Malaga and a 1-2 home loss to Crystal Palace, seven scored and six conceded. Chelsea meanwhile have handed the job to Xabi Alonso in place of Liam Rosenior and then spent like nobody else, with roughly 333 million pounds committed this window including a 117 million British record fee for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, plus Valentin Barco, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra and Geovany Quenda, and experience in Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson. Xabi Alonso has a long absentee list though, with Jordan Henderson, Geovany Quenda, Emanuel Emegha, Mamadou Sarr, Aaron Anselmino and Caleb Wiley all out and Wesley Fofana suspended. Chelsea also went two wins, one draw and two defeats in pre-season, hammering AC Milan 3-0 and beating Real Sociedad 3-1 on 15 August either side of losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus, ten scored and seven conceded. Fulham and Chelsea finished level on 52 points last season, Chelsea tenth and Fulham eleventh on goal difference, and head to head Chelsea have won six of their last eight visits to Craven Cottage, though after losing the last meeting 2-1 here in January Chelsea risk losing back to back derbies for the first time since 1979.
BetBrain Fulham vs Chelsea betting insights: Chelsea Draw No Bet The cleanest way to back the visitors is with the draw taken out, because the squad gap here is enormous and the price is fair rather than short. Chelsea have won six of their last eight trips to Craven Cottage, and Xabi Alonso can name Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Moises Caicedo and Reece James in the same eleven off the back of a 333 million pound summer. Alvaro Arbeloa is 28 games into a management career, missing Tom Cairney and Joachim Andersen and replacing Harry Wilson's creativity with untested 19 and 22-year-olds, which is a lot to ask on your first competitive night in the Premier League. Getting your stake back if Fulham grind out a draw is exactly the right protection in a derby that has produced narrow scorelines in four of the last five meetings. Morgan Rogers To Score Or Assist The player angle is the most expensive footballer in British history walking out for his competitive Chelsea debut. Morgan Rogers cost 117 million pounds from Aston Villa precisely because he does both jobs, arriving in the box to finish and picking the pass in the final third, and Xabi Alonso's likely 3-4-2-1 puts him alongside Cole Palmer directly behind Joao Pedro in the zone where Fulham are weakest. Fulham conceded in four of their last five warm-up games and will be defending with Calvin Bassey and Jorge Cuenca rather than the suspended Joachim Andersen, so the space between the lines will be there. Score or assist rather than anytime scorer is the better shape of bet for a player whose whole value is being involved in the goal rather than always finishing it. Chelsea To Win And Both Teams To Score The value combination is Chelsea taking the three points in an untidy game rather than a clean one. Fulham have scored in four of their last five and Craven Cottage on a Monday night with a new manager and a crowd that remembers beating Chelsea 2-1 in January will produce at least one moment for Gonzalo Garcia or Josh King. Chelsea's own defence is not settled either, with Wesley Fofana suspended, Mamadou Sarr out and Maxence Lacroix only just arriving, and Chelsea conceded seven across their last five including three to Johor Darul Ta'zim. Four of the last five meetings here produced goals at both ends or a one-goal margin, so a Chelsea win with Fulham on the scoresheet is the most likely version of a Chelsea win, and the combination price at better than 3.50 pays properly for it. Top Fulham vs Chelsea betting tips from BetBrain expertsChelsea Draw No Bet - at 1.52
Morgan Rogers To Score Or Assist - at 2.10
Chelsea To Win And Both Teams To Score - at 3.60
The likeliest story at Craven Cottage is a tight, tense derby where Fulham stay compact for an hour, Chelsea's individual quality eventually breaks it open through Morgan Rogers or Cole Palmer, and Fulham get one back late to make the finish uncomfortable. A 1-2 for Chelsea lines all three picks up cleanly, landing the Draw No Bet, giving Morgan Rogers his goal or assist and delivering the win with both teams scoring. Fulham vs Chelsea under the Monday night lights is the right way to close Premier League matchday 1, and with Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso in opposite technical areas nobody really knows what these two sides are yet.