Chelsea v Fulham: Where to Watch, Preview and Teams

Fulham travel down the road to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in what promises to be yet another exciting edition of the west London derby.

Where to Watch (all times GMT)

Kick-off is set for 7.45 pm. Chelsea TV will have a build up to the game from 6.30 pm. Watch highlights of the game on Match of the Day on BBC One and BBC One HD at 10.45 pm.

Overview

The Blues hierarchy will want club supporters to warm to interim manager Rafael Benitez but anything less than a convincing win in the derby is unlikely to soften the crowd's hostile feelings towards the former Liverpool boss.

Chelsea had a fantastic start to their season but their form dipped heavily after the October international break. The European champions have won just twice in their past nine games in all competitions and are on the brink of an early exit from the Champions League. The west London side have also failed to win their last five league matches, losing twice, to drop from top spot into fourth place and are five points behind leaders Manchester United. The Blues come into this game after a 0-0 home draw against Manchester City at the weekend.

Fulham also had a decent start to their campaign and at one point were above London rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United in the league table. However, the Cottagers have suffered a similar bad patch to Chelsea's and have triumphed just once in their last eight matches. Martin Jol's side sit 10th in the league table, with 16 points from 13 games.

History favours Chelsea in this fixture, as Fulham have not won at Stamford Bridge in a top flight clash since 1979.

Form Guide

Chelsea

• Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): D L L D W
• Last Match: Chelsea 0 - 0 Manchester City

Fulham

• Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L L D D D
• Last Match: Stoke City 1 - 0 Fulham

Team News

Chelsea: Benitez will be without captain John Terry (knee), Frank Lampard (calf) and Daniel Sturridge (hamstring) for this game. Meanwhile, Gary Cahill has recovered from the illness which kept him on the bench for the City game and is set to return to the starting line-up.

Probable Line-up (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Ramires; Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Torres

Fulham: Jol has no fresh injury concerns for the midweek game but has a few key players missing for the derby. Captain Brede Hangeland serves the second of a three-match suspension, while Alexander Kacaniklic, Bryan Ruiz and Kieran Richardson all unavailable with hamstring injuries. Long-term absentee Simon Davies (neck) remains sidelined.

Probable Line-up (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Senderos, Riise; Duff, Sidwell, Karagounis, Dejagah; Berbatov, Petric