Topics: Chelsea, Fulham, English Premier League, Rafael Benitez, Fernando Torres
On Matchday 14, fourth-placed Chelsea will play at home to Fulham hoping to leapfrog West Brom and keep pace with the Manchester clubs at the top of the EPL standings.

Chelsea's Fernando Torres and coach Rafael Benitez need to react and hit back at criticismAnalysis

It has been quite some time since any of these two sides tasted victory. Rafael Benitez would argue that he needs to win most on Wednesday. The former Liverpool head coach received a hostile reception by home fans on his Chelsea debut last weekend. Only success on the pitch can help Roberto Di Matteo’s heir to tone down the Blues’ furious supporters.

Meanwhile, also under intense pressure is Fernando Torres. The ex-Atletico Madrid star has gone 559 minutes without scoring a goal in the English Premier League. This is definitely not the kind of statistics that Russian owner Roman Abramovich wants to observe from his £50M signing.

 

Facts

• Chelsea have beaten Fulham only once in their last four meetings

• Fulham-Chelsea matches have not produced more than two goals since December 2009 when the Blues won 2-1.

• Chelsea have kept three clean sheets against Fulham in their last five matches

• Chelsea have not beaten Fulham in normal time since November 2010.

• Fulham and Chelsea have both won only one of their last six matches respectively.

• Fulham and Chelsea both enter Wednesday’s fixture have lost twice and drawn thrice in their last six matches in all competitions

• Fulham and Chelsea both chase their first English Premier League win after matches without success.

• Fulham (25) have scored more goals than Chelsea (24) in the league

Head-to-head – Last five meetings

November 10, 2010: Chelsea 1-0 Fulham (EPL)
February 14, 2011: Fulham 0-0 Chelsea (EPL)
September 21, 2011: Chelsea *0-0 Fulham (pen.) (League Cup)
December 26, 2011: Chelsea 1-1 Fulham (EPL)
April 9, 2012: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea

Chelsea’s last four matches:

November 11, 2012: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool (EPL)
November 17, 2012: West Brom 2-1 Chelsea (EPL)
November 20, 2012: Juventus 3-0 Chelsea (UCL)
November 25, 2012: Chelsea 0-0 Manchester City (EPL)

Fulham’s last four matches:

November 3, 2012: Fulham 2-2 Everton
November 10, 2012: Arsenal 3-3 Fulham
November 18, 2012: Fulham 1-3 Sunderland
November 24, 2012: Stoke City 1-0 Fulham

Prediction

Result: Fulham 0-1 Chelsea