Venue: Craven Cottage
Date: Monday, 9 April
Kick-off: 20.00 BST
There was a time I’d have bloody loved these games every other day but all I can think of lately is “fuck me, how many more of these games can we get through?” And I know congested fixture lists are meant to be a sign of success, it’s just that the performance against Wigan didn’t feel terribly successful. Yes ok, we won but we needed a couple of offsides to get the points and we won’t be gifted them every game.
Our players are dragging their arses through games like a dog with worms, yet with an FA Cup semi on the horizon and Arsenal sandwiched between Barcelona games, there’s very little let-up in sight and a nagging feeling that something has to give. Yet the win on Saturday has put us just 2 points off 4th spot and whilst it’s true Spurs have the games in hand, it’s points on the board that really count, so 3 of them again today are absolutely crucial.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
Going into today’s game, when he’s not going on about the ‘unbelievable Clint Dempsey, Fulham manager Martin Jol says “I feel the league is very important to them and you can focus, of course, on Barcelona, but they are a different team. They are playing unbelievable football and I think, of course, they have to focus on the Champions League but they have to focus on the Premier League as well. I think they have to look at it game by game and after that you can see what they have achieved. There is a lot of games coming up for them but I feel if they want to be in the top four or top three they have to win their league games as well. I think they have enough players to cope with that. You can’t say we are playing for Europe but I think we have got too many points to be looking at the bottom of the table. I think the only thing is to try to create a winning mentality in our team and get as many points as possible.”
Chelsea’s Roberto Di Matteo meanwhile, clearly mindful that our fixtures are as cramped as the District Line, says “We’ll assess the whole squad and also the guys that were injured or ill, like Ramires. We’ll try our best managing it and using all the players that we have to try to win these games. I think the players have accepted the fact that we are a team, a group, and the spirit of this group is very strong, I think they realise as well that everybody’s needed to achieve targets – and that’s the only way. We cannot just play with 11 players – we need the whole squad, 25 that we have able to come through.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Fulham, Bryan Ruiz (foot), Steve Sidwell (hernia), Zdenek Grygera (knee) and Andrew Johnson (thigh) are all out. Danny Murphy (illness), Pavel Pogrebnyak (ankle) and Orlando Sa (hamstring) all hope to return.
For Chelsea, John Terry (ribs), Frank Lampard (thigh), Ashley Cole (ankle) and Ramires (illness) face late tests.
TEAMS
FULHAM (from): Schwarzer, Stockdale, Kelly, JA Riise, Hangeland, Hughes, Duff, Murphy, Dembele, Diarra, Kacaniklic, Dempsey, Pogrebnyak, Baird, Senderos, Etuhu, Frei, Davies, Trotta, Sa, Gecov, Kasami, BH Riise, Halliche.
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Bertrand, Mikel, Romeu, Essien, Meireles, Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Malouda, Drogba, Torres, Sturridge, Kalou, Turnbull.
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 1-1 Fulham (26th December 2011)
PREDICTION
Any of you who read these previews regularly will know I don’t do scores. You’ll also know I’m the biggest pessimist going – and that’s not about to change. If we go by the old chestnut that you’re only as good as your last game, Fulham easily beat Bolton away whilst we needed a bit of luck and dodgy eyesight to get a marginal win against Wigan at Stamford Bridge. Our key players look more weary than I do on a Monday morning, yet with a few missing on Saturday we were clinging on by our boot studs (and thanks to the usual over-zealous watering of the Stamford Bridge pitch, Torres struggled to do even that at times). So, on a night where anything less than the full 3 points could put the first nail in next season’s Champions League coffin for us, I have a horrible feeling the grim reaper could be sharpening his scythe.
Blue is the colour
