Enzo Maresca believes that Chelsea has already proven that they are not to be religious on Cole Palmer.
Palmer was mentioned in Chelsea's starting line-up to West Ham last week, but the International of England was not because of a groin problem.
He was replaced by Estevao, who then registered an assist when Chelsea defeated their London rivals 5-1 to take their first victory of the season.
Maresca insisted that the results of Chelsea are not dependent on the availability of Palmer, which he thinks they shown last season.
“You already know what I think about that. How I think about it,” said Maresca when he was asked about those who say that Chelsea are 'Palmer FC'.
“You are there to say things, and people are there to say things, or those who say we are just 'Cole Team'.
“Certainly, Cole is undoubtedly our best player. With Cole we are certainly a much, much better team.
“But I think we already shown last year in two, three months, where unfortunately Cole was not 100% for us and we reached top four.
“Nobody expected that, and especially, nobody asked me in my first season. They asked me in two seasons [to qualify for the] Champions League. “
We organize Fulham on MD3 of the #PL. pic.twitter.com/a6f2zndvk2
– Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) 26 August 2025
For the second consecutive match, Fulham came from a goal to draw 1-1. Recently Emile Smith Rowe came from the couch to save a point at home against Manchester United.
He scored 94 seconds after his introduction, the sixth-hardest by a replacement since the beginning of last season, with four of the six fastest scored by Fulham players.
Smith Rowe believes that Fulham's ability to get goals from substitutes all comes from their mentality in training.
“We are very competitive in training, I think it all comes from when I score or when I contribute,” said Smith Rowe.
“We know when we come from the bank, we have to work hard and score.
“I know when Alex [Iwobi] Get the ball, I know his characteristic cross. I knew where he was going to say it and that I just had to be there at the right time. “
Players to watch
Chelsea – Joao Pedro
Because Palmer is possibly missing this fixture, Joao Pedro can be called to step again for Chelsea. He has been involved in six goals in his last four games in all matches for Chelsea (four goals, two assists), with four goals in four starts for the blues.
In the Premier League era, since 1992-93, only three players scored only five or more goals in their first five starts in all competitions for Chelsea-Diego Costa in 2014 (seven), Alvaro Morata in 2017 (five) and Tammy Abraham in 2019 (Seven).
Fulham – Rodrigo Muniz
Rodrigo Muniz – who won a late winner on Stamford Bridge for the Cottagers last season – scored six goals in his last 10 from the Premier League performances, on average every 45 minutes over those matches.
His equalizer in Brighton on MD1 brought him to six road as a replacement for Fulham, so Collins John caught up with the most (five).
Match forecast – Chelsea Win
Chelsea pulled 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their first home Premier League match of 2025-26 and did not succeed in winning two home games last season in their opening, but they have not done this since 2001-02 and 2002-03.
Estevao became the youngest player who ever assisted a Premier League goal for Chelsea in their 5-1 win over West Ham, 18 years and 120 days, during his first start in the competition. The only players who help in their first two starts of 18 years or younger are Francis Jeffers in 1999 (18Y 23d) and Evan Ferguson in 2023 (18Y 87d).
Chelsea has only lost 8.3% of their Premier League matches against Fulham (3/36), the joint loss percentage has one side against the other with a minimum of 20 meetings (Man Utd also 8.3% versus Aston Villa).
Fulham, however, won this exact fixture last season with 2-1 and ended a 21-game Winless Streak to Chelsea in all competitions. They have never won consecutive visits to Stamford Bridge in their history.
The Cottagers have four of their last eight away Premier League London Derbies (D2 L2), as much as in their previous 68 combined (W4 D21 L43). After defeating Brentford 3-2 in May, they are looking for successive road in London for a second time and beat Charlton Athletic and Tottenham in May and August 2003.
The side of Marco Silva has so far signed their Premier League matches this season, she has last drawn their opening of three league matches in 2017-18 in the championship, while at the top of the top time they have only done once (2010-11).
Opta wins probability
Chelsea – 59.4%
Drawing – 21.2%
Fulham 19.4%