Fulham 0-0 Chelsea LIVE: Maurizio Sarri recalls Kepa Arrizabalaga, Premier League score

Fulham vs Chelsea: Premier League score, goals and latest updates from Craven Cottage

FULHAM 0-1 CHELSEA | HIGUAIN (20)

Fulham XI: Rico, Bryan, Chambers, Ream, Odoi, McDonald, Cairney, Nordtveit, Sessegnon, Mitrovic, Babel

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Emerson, Rudiger, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Willian, Hazard, Higuain

• Kepa Arrizabalaga is recalled to the Chelsea starting XI

• Scott Parker starts Ryan Sessegnon ahead of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa

• Gonzalo Higuain opens the scoring with clinical finish

FULHAM 0-1 CHELSEA

25: Chelsea are the 91st English league team to score an away league goal in 2019, leaving only Huddersfield Town without one.

23: Callum Chambers is booked for cynical foul on Willian. That paired with the Chelsea goal looks to have knocked the stuffing out of Fulham. Can they respond?

FULHAM 0-1 CHELSEA | HIGUAIN

20: Those fine margins are the difference between survival and relegation in the Premier League. And Fulham have been on the wrong side of them far too often this season.

Moments after Ryan Babel fails to punish Kepa’s mistake – Chelsea are ahead.

It’s a routine goal for the visitors as Cesar Azpilicueta delivers a low cross for Gonzalo Higuain, who gets ahead of his marker and converts nicely with a low shot past Rico.

18: Mistake! Kepa Arrizabalaga is extremely lucky to get away with that.

The Chelsea goalkeeper goes to collect a routine, looping cross but drops it in the air. Ryan Babel turns his back on the ball allowing Kepa to claim.

17: Shirt change for Kevin McDonald. I know that’s the update you were all dying to know. Not too much to report in terms of chances – but Scott Parker will be delighted with how his side have started. Spritely.

15: It’s days like these that I miss Diego Costa. You just know he’d add some spice to the mix for no apparent reason.

13: Half-chances coming thick and fast at both ends of the field. Ryan Sessegnon and Eden Hazard are showing glimpses of attacking flair. No end product yet… of course there would have been if Gonzalo Higuain had been alert.

12: Christensen is penalised for using Mitrovic as a ladder. A bloody good one too. Anyway, referee Graham Scott awards the free-kick that Callum Chambers gifts back to Chelsea.

10: Gonzalo Higuain is looking a bit rusty. Eden Hazard draws in two or three Fulham defenders before clipping it over to the Argentine striker, who fluffs his first touch. Bryan arrives to clear.

9: Big chance… for Fulham! Babel’s low cross deflects off Rudiger and straight to the late arriving Cairney. The midfielder strikes from outside the penalty area but Azpilicueta makes a last-ditch block. Bryan arrives to send the rebound wide.

FULHAM 0-0 CHELSEA

7: Gonzalo, mate! Cesar Azpilicueta picks out loanee striker Higuain just outside the six-yard box but he glances the header wide of the target. Well wide.

5: Chelsea are straight into the ascendency with plenty of possession in midfield areas. Fulham look content to allow Maurizio Sarri’s side to dictate terms.

3: Fulham need four wins to get out of the bottom three and they’ve only had four wins all season. I admit that it’s looking bleak – but this talk of ‘preparing for next season’ isn’t helpful.

FULHAM 0-0 CHELSEA

1: And we’re underway! Impressive atmosphere at Craven Cottage this afternoon – how long will it last?

Remember, we’ve got the Merseyside derby coming up straight after the conclusion of this fixture. We’ll have the team news for you when it lands just after HT.

Prediction…

14:03: Call me a hopeless romantic – but I think Scott Parker will get a tune out of Fulham today. 2-1 win for the Cottagers.

Incidentally, bookmakers have clipped the price of Fulham avoiding relegation to 16/1 from the 33/1 quoted prior to Parker’s appointment.

Five-minute warning

14:00: Just five minutes until we’re underway at Craven Cottage. Yesterday’s results have left Fulham with a glimmer of hope – can they snatch an unexpected victory and boost their survival hopes? We’re about to find out.

Ouch!

13:58: Brendan Rodgers must have grown accustomed to being on the receiving end of late goals when in charge of Celtic… but the boot is on the other foot today!

Andre Gray fired in a stoppage-time goal to give Watford a 2-1 win over Leicester at Vicarage Road.

Fergie advice

13:55: Scott Parker received some “truly inspirational” advice from Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 38-year-old has been inundated with messages of support since replacing the sacked Claudio Ranieri on Thursday, including a text from former Manchester United boss Ferguson.

“Yesterday – I don’t really have many friends – the phone was just pinging away,” said Parker. “I had some amazing text messages.

“Sir Alex text me late last night, which was pretty incredible – to think he spent the time to write a long, detailed message giving me some advice on how he sees things was truly inspirational. I know it sounds a big comment but it’s the truth.”

Can see it now Fulham fans. Parker No.1 with Fergie as his second in command…

Twitter round-up

Smudge: I think Kepa will be a world beater but Sarri should have stuck with Caballero after his clean sheet. This is also the sort of game I think Hudson-Odoi should be starting. On paper won’t get a much easier game to blood him in the Premier League!

Hashim: I think Sarri wants to kill the game then he will bring on CHO and RLC which makes sense I suppose. Willian and Barkley will play like 60 mins and if we are 2-0 up I think we will see CHO and RLC, sarri been making good subs recently.

Ally: Would have liked to see RLC & Odoi Get a game, but, other than that, pretty happy with this 11… Hopefully they can each get at least 20 mins.

Latest…

13:45: Jamie Vardy has scored the first Premier League goal under each of Leicester’s last three permanent managers… make that four! The Foxes talisman scores to draw Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester level with Watford at Vicarage Road. It’s 1-1 with ten minutes remaining.

We’re more united – Sarri

13:40: Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri thinks the Kepa Arrizabalaga furore has galvanised his squad.

That may explain why Kepa is back between the sticks…

“For the players, I think it was an experience useful for staying more united,” Sarri said. “When there is a difficult situation, I think it’s very difficult for everybody, but it’s a big opportunity, also.

“You have to take that opportunity. Of course, it was really a very bad experience but I think we can come out of this situation better than before.”

Football friends…

13:35: Strange one, that.

Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte and England assistant Steve Holland are watching Watford vs Leicester together.

Can anyone explain how this friendship has blossomed and why? Is Don Conte doing a bit of consultancy work for Gareth Southgate’s England squad?!

Twitter round-up

Dimitri: Regardless of results and circumstances. Maurizio Sarri always has chances to make his life easier with the fans by playing Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi but continues not to. Baffling!

Grant: Has Maurizio Sarri learned his lesson? Has he changed? If he subs Willian for Pedro in this game or Barkley for Kovacic the answer is a big fat NO!

Danny: If Maurizio Sarri had anything about him he’d sub Kepa in the first five minutes.

But would he willingly leave the field, Danny? Love to see it mind…

Transfer inquest…

13:28: Scott Parker believes the inquest into Fulham’s disastrous Premier League campaign must wait until May.

The Cottagers splashed out more than £100million on new players following promotion last summer but have since sacked two managers and appear condemned to an immediate return to the Championship.

“At the end of the season, whether you’re winning leagues or getting relegated, it’s a time to reflect and work out where the mistakes have been made and where you can improve things,” he said.

“There’s no denying, and it doesn’t lie, that the owners of this football club have invested an awful lot of money. Ultimately they have the club’s best interests at heart.

“I’m sure at the end of the season, when all the dust is settled, everyone will sit around a table and say ‘OK, look, this, this and this wasn’t good enough, this was perfect’.”

I’ll tell you exactly how that inquest goes: “Why did we buy so badly?”, “Dunno…” End of inquest.

Team news – Fulham

13:24: Caretaker boss Scott Parker makes one change from the southampton defeat. Ryan Sessegnon returns in place of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Team news – Chelsea

13:20: The headline news is that Maurizio Sarri has welcomed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga back into the side with open arms.

The Wembley rebel (cool nickname) takes the place of Willy Caballero, who did well to keep a clean sheet against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge during the week.

Bit harsh if you ask me. Surely Kepa deserves more than a one-match snub?

Elsewhere Chelsea make five changes from the side which beat Spurs.

Christensen is preferred to Luiz who starts on the bench. Emerson returns in place of Alonso. Barkley in for Kovacic and Willian replaces Pedro.

Twitter round-up

Carl: Dropped for one game, Willy Caballero keeps a clean sheet in a big game, Kepa back in. Way to show your authority Maurizio Sarri…

Travis: Sarri said 3 or 4 changes and I guess that doesn’t include the keeper. Excellent to see Kepa back. Feel like Hazard and Jorginho could have used a rest and RLC and (ideally) CHO could have used a start. We are playing basement dwellers with a new manager after all.

Tommy: Poor team selection by Kepa…

Mixed thought about the return of Kepa Arrizabalaga. Should the goalkeeper have been left on the bench again?

Can Parker change Fulham’s fortunes?

13:10: Fulham’s 2-0 loss to Southampton proved the final straw for Fulham, who wielded the axe on Claudio Ranieri after mustering a mere three wins in 16 league matches.

Disapproval from the stands has been compounded by bemusement within the Craven Cottage dressing room, meaning Slavisa Jokanovic’s replacement exits with the side all but certain of relegation.

An eye-watering 10 points from safety with only 10 matches remaining, last season’s play-off winners have appointed former midfielder Scott Parker as caretaker manager in a bid to bring a modicum of positivity back to the ailing side.

Rather tellingly, owner Shahid Khan said: “Scott’s immediate assignment is merely to help us stabilise, grow and rediscover ourselves as a football club.”

Parker’s first challenge sees him head to former club Chelsea, who will be looking to end a testing week with another win.

The starting XI…

13:05: And here are your line-ups. Maurizio Sarri has made a few surprise changes – including the return of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Fulham XI: Rico, Bryan, Chambers, Ream, Odoi, McDonald, Cairney, Nordtveit, Sessegnon, Mitrovic, Babel.

Subs: Fabri, Ayite, Vietto, Le Marchand, Christie, Seri, Anguissa.

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Emerson, Rudiger, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Willian, Hazard, Higuain.

Subs: Caballero, Pedro, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Luiz.

Team news klaxon…

13:04: Scott Parker will name his first line-up as interim Fulham manager in just a few moments. I suspect he will take it back to basics – but who knows! Standby…

Brendan Rodgers returns

13:00: We’re already up and running in the first of three Premier League fixtures today.

Brendan Rodgers isn’t having a great start as Leicester manager with Watford leading 1-0 at Vicarage Road. Troy Deeney scored after just five minutes.

And later on, there’s the small matter of the 200th Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. We’ve got LIVE coverage of all these games on Express Sport.

Afternoon…

12:55: Welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Premier League.

How’s everyone feeling? We’re at picturesque Craven Cottage this afternoon to see whether Fulham can spark their great escape against Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea.

You know the season is reaching the business stage when we pull out the ‘great escape’ cliché.

Prepare yourselves for more stock phrases in the coming weeks… “This is a must-win game, ”Relegation six-pointer” or “Too good to go down.”

Anyway, 19th-placed Fulham are 10 points from safety and facing an immediate return to the Championship, while Chelsea have renewed hopes of a top-four finish.

Should be an eventful West London derby – so let’s get this underway!

FULHAM vs CHELSEA

Fulham’s new caretaker boss Scott Parker has no fresh selection concerns to contend with. Forward Andre Schurrle, who has missed the last two games, will not be available for the Premier League clash due to a virus. Goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and defender Alfie Mawson remain sidelined with long-term knee problems.

Kepa Arrizabalaga could return in goal in place of Willy Caballero. The Argentinian Caballero started Wednesday’s win over Tottenham as Kepa was disciplined for his refusal to be substituted in last week’s Carabao Cup final, and the pair will share goalkeeping duties in the Blues’ next two games. Head coach Maurizio Sarri plans to rotate his squad after a challenging series of fixtures.

Last season: No corresponding fixture

Last five league matches: Fulham W L L L L; Chelsea L L W L W

Top scorers (all competitions): Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) 10; Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 15

Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)