In recent years, the West London derby between Chelsea and Fulham has never been so much in the spotlight as it will be on the occasion of the next Premier League fixture; partly due to the demerits of the Cottagers, who were in the Championship three seasons ago, but also to the Blues' poor results, who two years ago, for example, ended the championship eight points below their rivals. However, Enzo Maresca's Chelsea is shining, unexpectedly second in the Premier League and always victorious in the Conference League, just as Marco Silva's Fulham is on the rise, ninth in the table and in a period of very positive results. The historic English Boxing Day, therefore, at Stamford Bridge will live one of its most important chapters in this cross-city match that is worth a lot in the West of the City.

Chelsea's shape and key stats

Although the last 0-0 against Everton left some regrets, Chelsea is smiling: second in the Premier League behind an impregnable Liverpool, thanks to five consecutive victories in the league prior to the draw at Goodison Park, the Blues are regaining the enthusiasm of the best times, a path that Enzo Maresca is leading in a great way but that also finds its roots in the end of last season considering, for example, that of the last 20 matches played at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have lost only 1, the first match against Manchester City.

That, along with the one at Anfield, was Chelsea's only defeat in the league; of the other 15 matches they have won 10, drawing five, while their Conference League run is unblemished: six wins in six games for the Blues.

Fulham's shape and key statistics

Just like Chelsea, who slowed down in the last one against Everton by drawing 0-0, Fulham cannot be happy with the 0-0 against last-place Southampton even though the X sign for the Cottagers is home, considering that in the last 5 matches, there have been 4 draws.

Fulham's path in the Premier League is also quite balanced: a path of 6 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats that brings them to a good ninth place in the standings where the defence shines more (better than that of teams like Aston Villa and Manchester City) than the attack that has its best scorers in Iwobi and Jimenez, both with 5 goals.

Match prediction and tactical overview

Apart from the known absences, there are no particular formation problems for the two coaches who will be close to being able to field their best line-up. The two teams' double 0-0 draw against bottom-of-the-table opponents Everton and Southampton could also be a sign in view of last year's one-goal draw and, more generally, the last eight matches between Stamford Bridge and Craven Cottage have never exceeded three goals in total, which may be a derby indication that BetMines prefer the Under 3.5 goals to the Over 3.5 goals in their predictions.

• BetMines' algorithm prediction for the Chelsea - Fulham match is 51% Under 3.5 goals.
• BetMines' Algorithm prediction for the Chelsea - Fulham match predicts Over 3.5 goal 49%.

Chelsea v Fulham predicted lineups

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Felix; Nkunku. All: Maresca

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