RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Fulham vs Chelsea tips:
BTTS and Chelsea to win - 12/5 Ladbrokes
Joao Pedro to score - 7/5 Bet365
Fulham host London rivals Chelsea in the final Premier League game of the opening week, with two old teammates going head-to-head in charge (kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports).
New Cottagers boss Alvaro Arbeloa and new Blues boss Xabi Alonso played together with Liverpool and Spain, and the former replaced the latter at Real Madrid last season.
Now they are both managing in the Premier League for the first time and will be looking to get their first points on the board.
After finishing 11th in the league last season, manager Marco Silva left Craven Cottage at the end of his contract, turning down an extension to take over as the head coach of Benfica.
They are 7/2 with the football betting sites to finish in the top 10 this time around but also sixth favourites for relegation at odds of 5/1 as we wait to see how Arbeloa adapts to the league.
The arrival of Alonso at Chelsea has seen the bookmakers cut the odds on them winning the league title, and they are fourth favourites behind Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool at odds of 17/2.
Hopes and expectations are high at Stamford Bridge, thanks largely to their spending to bring in 12 players.
The arrivals of Morgan Rodgers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra and Geovany Quenda have been responsible for the bulk of the spending, while Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson took the majority of the headlines.
The Blues' lack of experience was clear to see last season, and following the departure of Marc Cucurella, they certainly needed to add more to their squad, but many were surprised by those moves, with the pair having a combined age of 71.
Fulham vs Chelsea betting tips
This is the fourth time that Fulham have kicked off their Premier League season with a London derby, but they will be hoping for a better outcome than the previous three.
They lost both home and away to Arsenal and at home to Crystal Palace, and they have also won only one of their last six opening games of the season - that coming against Everton at the start of the 2023-24 season.
Chelsea are also without a win in their last three opening games, drawing two and losing one, against Manchester City, two years ago.
Despite that, online bookmakers are backing Alonso’s side for the win, offering 10/11, while you can get 31/10 on a Fulham win and 3/1 on the first draw in seven meetings, since a 0-0 at Stamford Bridge in February 2023.
Both teams have scored in three of the last four meetings, with Fulham winning two and Chelsea one, while the other was a 2-0 win for the Blues.
Last season’s meeting at Craven Cottage came just after Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had been sacked and ended in a 2-1 win for the home side.
Their cause was helped massively by the sending-off of Marc Cucurella after just 22 minutes, and Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson were both on target for the home side in the second half.
Both of those players left the club in the summer, with Jimenez returning to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wilson moving to Leeds.
The goalscoring burden this season will fall on new signings Gonzalo Garcia, who followed Arbeloa from Real Madrid and Jonah Kusi-Asare, as well as former Manchester City forward Oscar Bobb, who signed in January.
Fulham vs Chelsea prediction 1: BTTS and Chelsea to win - 12/5 Ladbrokes
Fulham vs Chelsea goalscorer tip
Joao Pedro has scored 23 goals for Chelsea since making the move from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer, including 15 in the Premier League.
After missing out on a place in the Brazil squad for the World Cup, that could be Chelsea’s gain after he had a long summer break.
He’s made five appearances against Fulham for Brighton and Chelsea, scoring two and assisting another.
He opened the scoring in last season’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge, and betting apps are offering 5/1 on him scoring first at Craven Cottage.
Fulham vs Chelsea prediction 2: Joao Pedro to score - 7/5 Bet365
Fulham vs Chelsea team news:
Fulham: The home side will be without long-term absentee Tom Cairney (knee), while defender Joachim Andersen is serving the final match of his three-game ban for a sending-off last season.
Chelsea: Emmanuel Emegha, Aaron Anselmino and Jordan Henderson are all definitely ruled out through injury, but Danny Welbeck should be fit after overcoming a niggle. They will also be without Wesley Fofana after he was sent off on the final day of the previous campaign.
Fulham vs Chelsea predicted lineups:
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Cuenca, Bassey, Robinson; Iwobi, Berge; Bobb, King, Palacios; Garcia
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Lacroix, Colwill; Neto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palestra; Palmer, Rogers; Joao Pedro
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