Preview: Mourinho’s Blues hoping to rise above pressure
Jose Mourinho is already under scrutiny whereas the 2013/14 club football season is only in its early stages. The Portuguese left Real Madrid on a low, having failed to win a trophy with Los Blancos in 2013. After putting an end to last season’s turbulent and miserable spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, the two-time treble champion made a sensational and long-awaited return to Stamford Bridge.
The news was widely applauded by confident Chelsea supporters all summer but the pre-season defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid in the ICC 2013 final seemed to signal that the Blues would not enjoy the great 2013/14 start they were dreaming about.
Between the commencement of the on-going competitive season and now, Jose Mourinho and his squad have been hit with a number of bad results that have reduced them to a bounce-back mission on Matchday 5 of the Premier League. As if losing the 2013 UEFA Super Cup to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich was not disappointing enough, Chelsea went on to suffer an upset away to Everton in the EPL last weekend. This was followed by a bad kick-off in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as they allowed Switzerland’s FC Basel to snatch a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
There is a lot of work on the table for Mourinho as his team lacks composure. With no injury concerns, the ex-Real Madrid coach may experience troubles picking up his starting XI for Saturday’s home fixture against Fulham. Removing unconvincing striker Samuel Eto’o and adding midfielders Ramires and Juan Mata to the line-up could pave way to success.
Besides, Fulham have been hit with several absences. Bryan Ruiz, Maarten Stekelenburg, Matthew Briggs and Aaron Hughes are all out. Meanwhile, Dimitar Berbatov will likely not play at his best after picking up a hamstring injury in last week’s 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Chelsea vs Fulham live on Saturday, September 21, 2013:
In Canada at 12:30 ET on: TalkSport Radio, TSN2
In UK at 17:30 BST on: Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Go, Sky Sports 1 Ireland, BBC One
In USA at 12:30 ET on: DirecTV, NBC Sports Network, SiriusXM FC, NBC Sports Live Extra, TalkSport Radio, Mun2
Are you in Africa, Asia, Europe or anywhere outside Canada, UK and USA? Then visit the Chelsea-Fulham match page for LiveSoccerTV’s exclusive worldwide live stream and TV channel listings. Do remember that you can keep yourself updated with all the goals and bookings through live scores of the Blues’ home game against the Cottagers on our website.
