Chelsea vs Fulham FC Tickets

Stamford Bridge hosts this local derby and you can bet there'll be an escalating craze for tickets as the fixture looms nearer.

Check out the Stamford Bridge seating plan to get a better idea of the best spots to sit for this exciting clash.

Chelsea vs Fulham FC History

Fulham FC is London's oldest professional football club, founded in 1879 – some 26 years before Chelsea FC was formed. Despite this, it is the latter which has gone on to be the most successful team based in west London.

The Cottagers have very little silverware to show for the club's deep history, which stretches back more than 140 years.

Chelsea, meanwhile, celebrated a moderate amount of trophy success in the second half of the 20th century. The Blues won the First Division for the first and only time in 1955, followed by a maiden FA Cup title in 1970 and a second triumph only 27 years later.

Then, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich purchased the club in 2003 and proceeded to fund the recruitment of a world-class team for much of his 19 years as owner of Chelsea FC. José Mourinho led the Blues to a plethora of trophies, leaving Fulham in their wake.

Stamford Bridge and Craven Cottage are separated by less than two miles, though there are still a number of well-known players who have donned the badges of both Chelsea and Fulham.

• Eidur Gudjohnsen put pen to paper with Chelsea in 2000. The Iceland striker spent six years with the Blues, amassing more than 250 appearances, before switching to FC Barcelona. Gudjohnsen also had brief loan spells with two other London sides, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, close to a decade after he signed for Chelsea.

• Damien Duff was the fourth signing made by Chelsea in the Abramovich era, joining in a £17m deal from Blackburn Rovers in 2003. The Republic of Ireland winger won two Premier League titles before he joined Newcastle United, and then moved to Fulham in 2009.

• Chelsea acquired Brazil winger Willian in 2013, early into Mourinho's second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, and he went on to make more than 330 appearances for the Blues. Willian became a two-time Premier League champion during his seven-year stay with the Blues, before switching to Arsenal and later Fulham.

• Andre Schürrle also arrived at Chelsea in 2013, from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen. The Germany forward returned to his homeland just 18 months later, having become a World Cup winner the previous summer. Schürrle completed a loan move from Borussia Dortmund to Fulham in 2016, scoring six goals in 25 appearances for the Cottagers.

• Mark Schwarzer left Fulham for Chelsea in 2013. The Australian goalkeeper spent five years at Craven Cottage, following a successful spell at Middlesbrough, and he made just 12 appearances for the Blues before signing for Leicester City in 2015.

Chelsea vs Fulham FC Head-to-Head

The first-ever meeting between these teams came in 1910, in the Second Division. Fulham claimed a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage, though Chelsea won the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge.

The local rivals clashed in the FA Cup for the first time in 1936; Fulham won on their way to reaching the semi-finals. The 1949/50 season saw Chelsea and Fulham contest a maiden battle in the English top flight.

The Blues and the Cottagers met in the FA Cup semi-finals in 2002. John Terry scored the decisive goal at Villa Park, though Chelsea would ultimately lose to city rivals Arsenal in the final.