Fulham vs Chelsea Prediction, 20:00 April 20: Decisive battle for Champions League ticket

Pre-match review

In the previous round, Fulham lost 0-1 to Bournemouth and now have 48 points, 6 points less than Chelsea. Meanwhile, “The Blues” are in 6th place after a disappointing 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town.

Fulham's defeat to Bournemouth came courtesy of a first-minute goal from Antoine Semenyo. It was the fourth consecutive game Marco Silva's side have conceded.

Fulham's form has left Silva with little to be pleased with, with his side alternating between wins and losses in their last seven games, dropping a total of 12 points in the process. However, they have beaten the likes of Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage.

However, Fulham still have a chance to get into the European Cup group as they are only 6 points behind 7th-placed Aston Villa. 7th place is enough to qualify for the Conference League, and possibly the Europa League depending on the results of other cup competitions.

However, if Fulham are to make a surprise in the final stages of the season, they need to improve their defense a lot. They have conceded 8 goals in their last 4 matches and failed to score in 2 of them.

Meanwhile, Chelsea had to struggle to get a point from Ipswich Town, after being 0-2 down in the first half. They launched 34 shots in this match, nearly double the average per game this season (16.4).

Coach Enzo Maresca and his team also lost 1-2 to Legia Warsaw in the second leg of the Conference League quarter-finals last week, but still won the right to enter the semi-finals thanks to a 3-0 victory in the first leg on April 10.

Despite being heavily criticized in the second half of the season, Maresca and his players are still closely chasing the 5th position of Nottingham Forest - the team holding the last ticket to the Champions League.

Form, head-to-head history

In the first leg of this season on December 26, Chelsea lost 1-2 to Fulham, but that was their only defeat in the last 5 confrontations, with 3 wins.

However, Chelsea have a concern as they have not won any away game in the Premier League since December 8, with an eight-match run of five defeats, three draws, and five games without scoring a goal.

Chelsea have won just one of their last four games, drawing two and scoring three goals in that run. Fulham have won two and drawn two.

Force situation

Fulham are without Harry Wilson and Reiss Nelson through injury.

On Chelsea's side, Wesley Fofana and Gabriel Slonina are two long-term absentees.

Expected lineup:

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge; Iwobi, Pereira, Sessegnon; Jimenez

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson

Score prediction: Fulham 2-1 Chelsea

Trong Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhan-dinh-fulham-vs-chelsea-20h00-ngay-204-quyet-dau-vi-ve-du-champions-league-post1735268.tpo