Chelsea will be bidding to avoid ending a club-record streak when they square off against Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues head into the West London derby at Craven Cottage on the back of a surprise defeat at the hands of Legia Warsaw in the Conference League, albeit the result enough to see them progress through to the semi-finals.
Head coach Enzo Maresca has acknowledged that his team must start being more clinical in the final third if they wish to achieve Champions League qualification and win the third-tier European competition over the next six weeks.
That particularly rings true ahead of their short trip down the King's Road with Chelsea holding just a six-point advantage over ninth-placed Fulham in the Premier League table.
Maresca's side will head into this fixture looking to defend a record that has been held throughout the club's existence.
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What streak are Chelsea defending?
On Boxing Day, Fulham came from behind to earn a shock 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a result that acted as the catalyst for their neighbours losing momentum in the Premier League title race.
Should the Cottagers prevail on Sunday, it would mark the first time in 40 league campaigns where they have recorded the double over Chelsea.
Marco Silva will feel confident of inflicting that first on Chelsea on the back of Fulham winning three of their last four top-flight fixtures on familiar territory.
Fulham are also aiming to register their third successive league win for the first time since December 2023, potentially with an unchanged starting lineup with the same team having been selected for the last nine Premier League games.
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Chelsea's dismal away record
At a time when Fulham have lost just four of their most recent 16 league fixtures at Craven Cottage, Chelsea have been dismal on their travels since December.
Their winless streak away from Stamford Bridge currently stands at eight matches, with Maresca's side only earning three points during that period.
Furthermore, just three goals have been netted in those games, while they were on a four-game losing streak before the recent goalless draw at Brentford.
Having failed to score against Legia Warsaw on Thursday, Cole Palmer has now gone 15 matches without finding the back of the net.
Darren Plant
