Chelsea vs Fulham: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Boxing Day will bring us a west London derby when Fulham make the short trip to meet Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

There is more distance between these two sides on the Premier League table than there is on a map. Chelsea sit up in second, seven places ahead of their visitors, whose Craven Cottage home sits just over one mile away.

However, both teams find themselves in strong form. Indeed, no side has picked up more points than Chelsea over their last five Premier League games, while Fulham are unbeaten over the same stretch after facing Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Here's all you need to know about the latest instalment in this local rivalry.

Chelsea vs Fulham H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Chelsea vs Fulham on TV and live stream - UK & US

Chelsea team news

Cucurella is available again / Richard Heathcote/GettyImages

Chelsea will welcome left-back Marc Cucurella into the starting lineup after the Spaniard served his suspension, with Malo Gusto likely to return to the right side of defence and Axel Disasi potentially dropping to the bench.

Reece James has been back in partial training recently but is not yet nearing a return from his hamstring injury, meaning he will remain on the sidelines alongside centre-back duo Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.

Romeo Lavia will hope to make the bench but there will be no Mykhailo Mudryk, who has been provisionally suspended after a positive doping test.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Fulham (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Fulham team news

Pereira is available again / Alex Livesey/GettyImages

Fulham will also welcome a big name back from suspension as Andreas Pereira is free to start at the top of midfield once again.

Both Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic limped off injured last time out against Southampton and may not recover in time for this one. Kenny Tete, Harrison Reed and Reiss Nelson are all expected to miss out.

Fulham predicted lineup vs Chelsea

Fulham predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Smith Rowe; Wilson, Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez.

Fulham have proven to be a tough test for the Premier League's elite recently and the Cottagers will likely cause the same sort of problems for Chelsea, whose stalemate with Everton hints at a vulnerability against a stubborn defence.

Unlike Everton, however, Fulham have been really going for it in their last few games, scoring once against Arsenal and putting two past Liverpool. With Chelsea's defence not at its strongest, there could be some joy for Marco Silva's side.

Expect a gritty clash between two rivals who may be forced to settle for a share of the spoils.