Since losing badly to Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 on November 23, Marco Silva’s team has gone five games without a loss.
However, they have only won once during that time, drawing with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Southampton, respectively.
The Cottagers’ home match against Southampton ended in a goalless draw on Sunday, dropping them to ninth place in the Premier League standings and three points behind Bournemouth in fifth place.
Fulham will return to action on Boxing Day against Chelsea, who have won all nine of their previous Premier League games.
Fulham will need to defeat their West London neighbors on the road for the first time since they defeated Chelsea 2-0 in October 1979; in the forty-five years since then, the Cottagers have drawn eight and lost fourteen of their twenty-two competitive away games against Chelsea.
The Cottagers will hope to follow in the footsteps of Manchester and Liverpool by becoming the third team to defeat Chelsea in the Premier League this season.
Since Clint Dempsey scored in a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day 2011, Fulham has also lost all six of their previous visits to Stamford Bridge.
Thursday’s visitors may at least be able to take some confidence from the fact they have avoided defeat in six of their last seven Premier League games on Boxing Day.
However, the only defeat in that period took place in last season’s Boxing Day clash against Bournemouth, conceding three goals without reply in a heavy defeat at the Vitality Stadium.
Fulham must play without Kenny Tete, Reiss Nelson, and Harrison Reed if they hope to defeat Chelsea and earn all three points.
Smith, Emile After missing the Southampton draw, Rowe is doubtful, and it’s also unclear if Sander Berge will be fit for the West London derby.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Silva said: “Sander took a big knock on his ankle, and we need to keep assessing – we will make a decision tomorrow.
Emile is working hard; we’ll see if he’s prepared for Bournemouth or Chelsea.
Silva, though, is optimistic that Sasa Lukic, a midfielder, can recover from an injury in time to play against Enzo Maresca’s team on Thursday.
After serving a one-match suspension due to a string of yellow cards, Andreas Pereira is expected to rejoin the matchday squad.
