Having rediscovered the way to win away in recent weeks, Carlo Ancelotti's team will test its resolve close to home on Monday. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton spend the weekend winding up towards the SW6 derby...

TALKING POINTS
The biggest dent to morale dealt out by last weekend's defeat, other than the failure to rise to the hyped-up occasion, was Chelsea's inability - again -

to capitalise on the slip-ups of title rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.

Man United have dropped points in eight matches, and on five occasions Chelsea were able to gain ground on them with wins, but only once since November. The broader difficulties Chelsea have experienced since the Liverpool defeat in November account for that.

But match scheduling hasn't helped the champions' chances of torquing up the pressure on the Mancunians - only once since mid-December have the Blues played a match ahead of United: the recent win at Blackburn.

It's not only the players who have been unable to find rhythm from playing Saturday evenings, Sunday afternoons, and weekday nights. Supporters have already complained that as things stand our next away fixture on a weekend is not till Stoke City in April.

Carlo Ancelotti conceded in his Friday press conference that as a result of last week's demoralising loss, retaining the Premier League title was now virtually out of reach.

That is despite the influx of new players, and David Luiz impressing hugely during a cameo of immense personality and technique against Liverpool.

The Blues have now been beaten three times at home this season in all competitions: the most since Besiktas, Bolton, Liverpool and Arsenal won at the Bridge in 2003/04, Roman Abramovich's first season.

Some may crow 'nice don't pay the rent', but there is one table the Blues currently top - the Premier League Fair Play table. It is produced by collating the points awarded to clubs by Premier League match observers in categories such as 'positive play', 'respect towards officials' and behaviour of club staff.

West London rules: Chelsea lead the way, with notoriously pleasant Fulham in second. Kudos, then, to the club and players. But if the scores are scrabbled together like the player ratings awarded in national newspapers it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

In any case, after last Sunday, surely most fans would like the Blues to be far less charitable around our own goalmouth at the risk of receiving a few tuts from the match observer.

Fulham, incidentally, scored highest of all clubs in 'respect towards opponents' category. Pleasant though it might be to see the same attitude on Monday, the pride of the postcode is at stake and home fans will expect their players to get stuck in.

The Champions League returns in little more than a week, with the psychological pressure and extra burden on squads that is part of the package. Our next opponents, Copenhagen, are in their close season and have been taking part in a Scandinavian clubs' tournament in La Manga, Spain.

Having whacked Valerenga 5-1 and Aalesunds 6-4 en route, they lost 2-4 in the final to Gothenburg. They will now squeeze in two more friendlies against Elfsborg and Rosenborg before the hugely-anticipated hosting of the Blues on 22 February.

Man United's defence is severely weakened ahead of the Manchester derby but City boss Mancini may park the bus to avoid a fourth successive defeat at Old Trafford. Wolves have beaten Chelsea and Man Utd at home but lost 0-2 to Arsenal in the first half of the season.

Sunderland and Tottenham shared the points at White Hart Lane, but on Wearside Spurs have not won since 2001.

Saturday
Man Utd v Man City 12.45pm - Sky Sports
Arsenal v Wolverhampton 3pm
Birmingham v Stoke 3pm
Blackburn v Newcastle 3pm
Blackpool v Aston Villa 3pm
Liverpool v Wigan 3pm
West Brom v West Ham 3pm
Sunderland v Tottenham 5.30pm - ESPN
Sunday
Bolton v Everton 4pm - Sky Sports
Monday
Fulham v Chelsea 8pm - Sky Sports
Tuesday
Birmingham v Newcastle 7.45pm

Seven points separate the bottom 11 clubs. Fulham are four points above the bottom three.
 

Barclays Premier League race for the Golden Boot
Dimitar Berbatov (Man Utd) 19
Carlos Tevez (Man City) 18
Andy Carroll (Newcastle) 11
Darren Bent (Aston Villa) 10
Kevin Nolan (Newcastle) 10
Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham) 10
Didier Drogba 9
Florent Malouda 9
Fernando Torres 9
Tim Cahill (Everton) 9
Clint Dempsey (Fulham) 9
Johan Elmander (Bolton) 9
Samir Nasri (Arsenal) 9
Peter Odemwingie (West Brom) 9

Barclays Premier League race for the Golden Glove (clean sheets)
Joe Hart (Man City) 12
Petr Cech 11
Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd) 10
Pepe Reina (Liverpool) 10

Click on tabs above for more briefing.

TACTICAL BRIEF
The big tactical debate will be how best to accommodate Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba upfront, and so far Carlo Ancelotti has done so by fracturing the usual 4-3-3. In doing so he has sacrificed wide forwards such as Florent Malouda and Saloman Kalou and fielded Nicolas Anelka in behind a front two.

Anelka's role worked against an attacking side at Sunderland, when he was often facing play with the ball at his feet. Too often in the Liverpool game, when faced with what manager Kenny Dalglish joked was his '1-10 formation', the Frenchman found himself negated, his back to the opposition area.

In order for the 'hole' position to work, a side needs width, and dynamic support from midfield, both commodities in short supply at the Bridge on Sunday.

The Double-winning manager has already revealed that David Luíz will start at the Cottage, suggesting that Branislav Ivanovic - who had two disconcerting mix-ups with Petr Cech in the area - will return to right-back. Luíz, for those who have not seen much of him, is tall, fast, talkative, a great passer and a definite threat at set-plays.

Like our new no.9, the Brazilian will be required at some stage to perform a song in front of his new teammates. With such a short journey and an eight o'clock kick-off the ritual may have to wait.

Emerging cult hero Ramires should be available again for selection. Having found his mark at the Reebok (after hitting the woodwork in two games) he must fancy his chances of matching his career best. That was six league goals set in 2008/09 with Cruzeiro in Brazil. In his only previous European season, at Benfica, he netted four.

No one has drawn more league games than Fulham this campaign, though they have gone three at home without a defeat. Much better finishers of matches than starters this season, they have only let one goal in during the final quarter-hour.

The Whites have not conceded from the penalty spot, are yet to score or concede from a corner (Chelsea have netted from four), and are so far impenetrable from set-plays.

Gael Kakuta (on loan but unavailable for this game) was the most recent addition to the Chelsea colony at Craven Cottage. Fulham already had seven former Blues in various capacities there: Mark Hughes, Kevin Hitchcock, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Ray Lewington, Damien Duff, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Steve Sidwell.

WE HAVE HISTORY
In October 1983 a seesaw Division Two match between two attacking sides by the bank of the Thames ended up 5-3 to Chelsea.

Future Blue Gordon Davies netted a hat-trick for the Whites in a cracking display of the finisher's craft.

However, it was artistry of a more elegant kind that caught the eye, and the maestro responsible was 19-year-old Pat Nevin. He had made his debut for the Blues a few weeks earlier and dominated the right flank while another impressive performer, Paul Canoville, commanded the left.

'I was glad to come to Chelsea and be anonymous again,' Nevin said afterwards. 'The pressure was beginning to build up on me at Clyde, but at Stamford Bridge nobody knew me.

'The goal I scored was nice, but I was happier setting one up for Colin Lee.' To do it justice we should point out that he set up Lee after a dazzling 30-yard dribble around Fulham players as if they were traffic cones.

Kerry Dixon bagged two and Joey Jones managed one of his career total of two goals for Chelsea.

Victory made it three wins and ten goals over five autumn days for John Neal's men, the second tier's great entertainers delivering a scoreline typical on the road to promotion the following May.

Even Fulham manager Malcolm Macdonald was moved to suggest after this eight-goal feast that, 'the home supporters should go home with some satisfaction.'

A similar degree of 'satisfaction' for the hosts would be just what the doctor ordered on Monday.

Chelsea are looking to extend our unbeaten run against Fulham to 10 games and are looking for a fourth victory in five games at Craven Cottage since our last defeat there in March 2006 when Luis Boa Morte scored the only goal.

Although Fulham is the oldest London team in the Premier League, they were originally in the Southern League, and this is only the 21st season that Chelsea and Fulham have been in the top flight together.

Our 0-1 defeat at Craven Cottage in March 2006 is the only reverse we have suffered there in 15 games in all competitions since our neighbours including George Best and Bobby Moore defeated us 1-3 in April 1977.

Our away Premier League record against Fulham is:
2001/02 Drew 1-1
2002/03 Drew 0-0
2003/04 Chelsea won 1-0
2004/05 Chelsea won 4-1
2005/06 Fulham won 1-0
2006/07 Chelsea won 2-0
2007/08 Chelsea won 2-1
2008/09 Drew 2-2
2009/10 Chelsea won 2-0

The reverse fixture this season
10 November 2010 Barclays Premier League
Chelsea………..……0 Fulham…..………..….0
Essien 30
                                Att: 41,593

Fulham v Chelsea in all competitions
Games played 72
Chelsea wins 42
Fulham wins 9
Draws 21

Head-to-head in the league at Craven Cottage and Loftus Road
Games played 31
Chelsea wins 19
Fulham wins 5
Draws 7

Biggest league win at Fulham for each team
08/04/1977 Fulham 3-1 Chelsea
13/11/2004 Fulham 1-4 Chelsea

DAYS SINCE AS AT 12 FEB
Chelsea lost at Craven Cottage: 1,792
Fulham beat a London team in the league at home: 287
Arsenal won a trophy: 2,094
Liverpool won a trophy: 1,737

CHELSEA STATS
Chelsea's defeat against Liverpool was our seventh in the Barclays Premier League this term and is the most since we lost the same number in 2003/04 when we finished runners-up to Arsenal.

It was only our fifth defeat in the league at Stamford Bridge in seven years, two of which have been against Liverpool. Arsenal, Man City and Sunderland were the others.

Chelsea have hit the woodwork 14 times in league matches which is more than any other Premier League team. Fulham have only managed it once.

Chelsea are looking for a third successive away league win for the first time since the last away trip last term at Liverpool and our opening two away visits of the season to Wigan and West Ham.

Chelsea have not lost a league game this season when opening the scoring.

The Blues have fallen behind in 10 of our last 16 league games and have come back to win twice - at Ewood Park against Blackburn in October and Sunderland two weeks ago.

No team has conceded fewer league goals than Chelsea's 22.

The Blues have the third best away record in the division with 18 points out of a possible 39 on our travels with victories at Wigan, West Ham, Blackburn, Bolton and Sunderland, draws at Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham and defeats to Man City, Liverpool, Birmingham, Arsenal and Wolves.

2010/11 Premier League scorers
Drogba 9 (2 pens), Malouda 9, Kalou 7, Anelka 6, Essien 3, Ivanovic 3, Lampard 3 (2 pens), Terry 2, Alex 1, Benayoun 1, Ramires 1, own goal 1 (Evatt, Blackpool). Total 46.

MILESTONES
If selected, Branislav Ivanovic will make his 100th Chelsea appearance.

FULHAM STATS
Formed 1879

Fourteen years ago at the end of the 1995/96 season Fulham were 17th in the Third Division (fourth tier) and in the next five seasons won three promotions including being champions of the Second and First divisions. The Cottagers have never won a major trophy.

Fulham have won their last three games at Craven Cottage all with a clean sheet.

No team has drawn more Premier League games this season than Fulham with 12.

Fulham have failed to score in seven of their 26 league games.

They have the 12th best home record in the division with 20 points out of a possible 39 with wins against Wolves, Wigan, West Brom, Stoke and Newcastle, draws with Man Utd, Everton, Aston Villa, Birmingham and Sunderland and three defeats to Tottenham, Man City and West Ham.

John Pantsil has scored three league own goals this season, more than any other player.

Fulham are the only Premier League club not to have a player sent off this season and have had the fewest players booked.

Aaron Hughes, Brede Hangeland and Clint Dempsey are the only players to have been ever present in the Premier League this term.

Manager Mark Hughes (as at 12 Feb)
Days in charge: 199
Played 30
Won 9
Drawn 12
Lost 9

2010/11 Premier League scorers
Dempsey 9 (1 pen), Hangeland 3, Baird 2, Davies 2, Dembélé 2, A Johnson 2, Kamara 2, Duff 1, Etuhu 1, Gera 1, Hughes 1, Zamora 1, own goal 1. Total 28.

WINDOW WATCH
Fulham's major January transfers
Ins Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Stoke, loan), Gael Kakuta (Chelsea, loan).
Outs Frederik Stoor (Valerenga, undisclosed), David Elm (Elfsborg, undisclosed). Eddie Johnson (Preston, loan).

Chelsea's January transfers
Ins Fernando Torres (Liverpool, undisclosed), David Luiz (Benfica, undisclosed).
Outs Daniel Sturridge (Bolton, loan), Gael Kakuta (Fulham, loan), Ben Gordon (Scunthorpe, loan), Jacob Mellis (Barnsley, loan), Daniel Philliskirk (Sheffield Utd, loan), Patrick van Aanholt (Leicester, loan), Jeffrey Bruma (Leicester, loan), Conor Clifford (Notts County, loan).

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The referee is Mike Dean, who has handled three Chelsea matches this season including our 6-0 win at Wigan. His sole Fulham game was a derby defeat by Spurs at the Cottage.


OTHERWISE ENGAGED
There are no suspensions. Gaël Kakuta is unavailable under the terms of his loan.