Fulham vs Chelsea: Starting XIs, confirmed team news for Premier League clash

Calum McFarlane has named his Chelsea side to face Fulham in the Premier League.

The Chelsea Under-21s head coach will take charge of the first-team for one final time on Wednesday night as they head to Craven Cottage for the west London derby.

McFarlane will step back to return to his usual duties on Thursday as Liam Rosenior begins his time as Chelsea head coach following Enzo Maresca's departure on New Year's Day.

Chelsea managed to claim a point against Manchester City last time out, a proud moment for McFarlane and his staff in their first ever senior match, and they will be keen to end their interim spell with a victory.

It's been a challenging last month for Chelsea, who have won just one of their previous eight league games. They have drawn their previous two matches and are hoping to claim their first win of 2026.

Chelsea were without Robert Sanchez (muscle) and Moises Caicedo (suspension) against Man City. Both return to the Blues side for the London derby. Marc Cucurella is also back involved.

When asked what he has asked of his Chelsea side against Fulham, McFarlane revealed: "The same thing we did against City. Try and prepare with the limited time we have as best we can and try and build on that second-half performance. They know the belief we have in them and we just want to keep reinforcing that."

Here are the confirmed teams from Craven Cottage for the Premier League fixture between Fulham and Chelsea.

Fulham

Starting XI: Leno, Diop, Andersen, Cuenca, Castagne, Berge, Cairney, Robinson, Wilson, Smith Rowe, Jimenez

Bench: Lecomte, Sessegnon, Amissah, Reed, Lukic, Ridgeon, Adama, Kevin, Kusi-Asare

Chelsea

Starting XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella, Caicedo, Santos, Palmer, Fernandez (C), Neto, Delap

Bench: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Fofana, James, Hato, Estevao, Garnacho, Gittens, Pedro