Premier League, Stamford Bridge prepares for the derby: Chelsea–Fulham London, 30 August 2025.
The atmosphere of the London derby returns to Stamford Bridge this Saturday afternoon as Chelsea hosts Fulham for the third matchday of the Premier League.
Although the two teams enter this contest with different season objectives, the rivalry between Blues and Cottagers remains strong, a neighborhood rivalry that over time has produced unexpected moments and memorable surprises.
Chelsea, under Enzo Maresca, is coming off a resounding 5-1 victory against West Ham following a season opener draw with Crystal Palace. The head coach seems to have already impacted the Blues’ style of play, which is now more fluid and incisive in attack, with João Pedro standing out with goals and assists. However, the team faces its first real home test: consistency and solidity are needed to fuel the ambition of regularly competing at the top of the table.
Marco Silva’s Fulham arrives at Stamford Bridge with two draws from their past games against strong opponents such as Manchester United and Brighton. The start confirms the Cottagers’ defensive solidity and tactical organization, able to close down spaces and counterattack effectively. Attention focuses on Rodrigo Muniz, already in the spotlight this season, and the experience of key players like Andersen and Iwobi.
Chelsea has lost only 8.3% of Premier League games against Fulham (3 out of 36), the lowest defeat rate for any team against another with a minimum of 20 meetings (similar to Man Utd’s 8.3% record against Aston Villa).
Fulham won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, ending a streak of 21 consecutive home wins for Chelsea in all competitions. They have never won two consecutive matches at Stamford Bridge in their history.
Chelsea drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their first home game of the 2025-26 Premier League season and did not win their first two home games last season either, something not seen in consecutive years since 2001-2003.
Fulham have won four of the last eight London Premier League away derbies (2 draws, 2 losses), as many as in the previous 68 combined; after beating Brentford 3-2 in May, they seek consecutive away wins in London for only the second time ever.
For the second straight season, Chelsea failed to score in the opening Premier League game but then scored five goals in the second match (last season 6-2 vs Wolves, this season 5-1 vs West Ham), a feat achieved only four times before in Premier League history by other teams.
Fulham drew both their Premier League games this season so far, last doing so in their first three league matches in 2017-18, and only once before in the top flight in 2010-11.
Estêvão became Chelsea’s youngest player ever to assist a Premier League goal in their 5-1 win over West Ham, aged 18 years and 120 days on his first start; the only other players to assist in their first two starts aged 18 or younger are Francis Jeffers (1999) and Evan Ferguson (2023).
João Pedro has been involved in six goals in his last four games for Chelsea (4 goals, 2 assists), scoring in all four starts; since the Premier League's inception in 1992-93, only three players scored more than five goals in their first five starts: Diego Costa, Álvaro Morata, and Tammy Abraham.
Rodrigo Muniz of Fulham, who scored the winning goal at Stamford Bridge last season, has scored six goals in his last 10 away Premier League appearances, averaging a goal every 45 minutes; his equalizer at Brighton brought him to six away goals, surpassing Collins John’s previous record of five.
Raúl Jiménez and Sander Berge could reach Premier League milestones in this game; Jiménez might be the first Mexican player with 200 Premier League appearances, while Berge is one match short of his 100th. The last time two players hit similar milestones in the same match was August 2023 for Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister (100) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (200).
Chelsea have not lost a home league game since the last 2024 match, which was against Fulham (2-1).
In five of Fulham’s last six Premier League away wins, there were at least three goals in the match.
When Fulham played away against the top five in the 2024-25 season, the over 2.5 goals outcome always occurred.
