Ranieri's Fulham fight back
On paper this should be a straightforward win for Chelsea, who host Fulham on Sunday, but I think this will be tough test for the Blues who will face a West London rival with a new manager at the helm.
Chelsea
It's time for Chelsea to get back to winning ways if they are to stand a chance of competing for the league this year. They lost their last match against Spurs 3-1 and drew the game before at home against Everton 0-0. Now, logic would have you believe that without any serious injuries and without the Champions League to worry about, they should bounce back against Fulham. But I see some warning signs appearing. First, Hazard has gone without a goal or assist in the past two matches. He has also now picked up a light injury but will still probably still play on Sunday. Then neither Giroud or Morata are exactly banging them in up front.
When a team like Chelsea play Fulham at home they are obviously going to be clear favourites, but I find it hard to believe that this Chelsea will steam-roller this Fulham on Sunday. A Fulham that now have a new manager and some wind in their sails after a much needed victory over the weekend. We should even remember that Chelsea will play in the Europa League this Thursday, where a number of the first team will play and therefore only get two days rest before the game against Fulham.
Fulham
At the start of this campaign, we were all amazed by the sensational form of Fulham, but like a bolt from the blue they cam crashing back to earth. After their bright start they went through a really dark period where they racked up a series of losses. Needless to say, they somewhat deserved this, considering they invested everything into their attack and nothing into their defence - a schoolboy error for a newly promoted team. But now they've restored a little order after hiring Ranieri as manager. The Italian had an immediate effect, with Fulham winning 3-2 against Southampton in a real wild-west match. Of course, Mitrovic played a key role, scoring two goals with the Serbian even scoring for his national team, meaning there is a good chance that he will find the back of the net in this match. Even Sessegnon had a great game, grabbing two assists.
Betting tips
Chelsea are the market's clear favourites. I think this is wrong. Fulham have 'only' lost by two goals against opposition like Liverpool and City (League Cup) and now they have a new coach and some of their swagger back. I think that Fulham will avoid losing by more than three goals in this match. I am betting on Fulham with a +2.5 goal handicap with odds of 7/10 with Unibet. I am going to go all in with a huge 8 unit investment.
