Liverpool, Brighton, West Ham and Aston Villa were all in European action on Thursday, and are back on Premier League duty on Sunday afternoon.
Recommended four-fold: Draw or Brighton Double Chance, Liverpool to win and BTTS (No), Douglas Luiz to score any time and West Ham to win.
- Draw or Brighton Double Chance at Chelsea
- Liverpool to beat Fulham and Both Teams Not To Score
- Douglas Luiz to score any time
- West Ham to beat Crystal Palace
Chelsea vs Brighton
Roberto de Zerbi took his injury-hit squad to Athens in the Europa League on Thursday night where he was rewarded with a 1-0 win over AEK, proof once again that whatever the setbacks Brighton continue to excel.
There is no doubt Brighton rode their luck in the Greek capital but their knack of being able to dig out results even when their football deserts them is a valuable weapon.
And it has to give them hope of producing something similar at Chelsea, a hugely inconsistent side under Mauricio Pochettino who look too short at odds-on.
Albion have lost only one of their last 10 matches – and that was narrowly at Manchester City – with five draws in that run. They are masters in the art of finding ways not to lose.
Injuries still mean key men are missing but whoever De Zerbi drafts in will be confident they can get something from their trip to Stamford Bridge where Chelsea are looking to get last week's 4-1 humiliation at Newcastle out of their system.
Chelsea have now conceded eight goals in two games since the international break and are proving too easy to play through with mistakes galore at the back. One of their better defenders – Reece James – plus another full-back, former Amex favourite Marc Cucurella – are suspended.
Just as worrying is their sorry home record – they have won just one of their last 14 home Premier League games, a run dating back to the first week in March. And that lone win was against newly-promoted Luton.
DRAW OR BRIGHTON DOUBLE CHANCE
Liverpool vs Fulham
Liverpool's fabulous season continued on Thursday night when they cruised to a 4-0 win over LASK in the Europa League, the perfect boost ahead of an Anfield showdown against Fulham.
The Reds have lost just two games so far, once – lucklessly – at Tottenham in the Premier League, and then at Toulouse in Europe.
Last weekend they demonstrated their title credentials by coming from behind to hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad thanks to Trent Alexander-Arnold's strike.
Jurgen Klopp's side have played 10 home games this season and won the lot. Five of the last six of those were wins to nil and that looks like the bet again.
Fulham have to be encouraged by their 3-2 win over Wolves on Monday night having taken just one point from the previous possible 12, though admittedly from a tough run of fixtures.
But the reality is that generally they look light in attack and their four wins this season have been against bottom-half opponents and that's their level, a level Liverpool very definitely are not at themselves.
LIVERPOOL TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS NOT TO SCORE
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
It would have been easy a few weeks ago to have this match down as a home banker, but Bournemouth are questioning that assertion by hitting some decent form.
Incapable of winning any of their first nine Premier League matches, the Cherries have won three of their last four, the only reverse coming at Manchester City and there will never be any disgrace in that.
The wins over relegation rivals Burnley and Sheffield United were the ones which probably meant most to head coach Andoni Iraolo, though the 2-0 success over Newcastle also proved that they can mix it with the big boys when they are in the mood.
And Villa are a big boy these days, that's for sure. Good enough to qualify for the Conference League last season, Unai Emery's men went into this weekend in fourth place with only Manchester City having scored more goals.
They are on a four-match winning streak including last weekend's impressive 2-1 triumph at Tottenham and look full of goals, with penalty-taking midfielder Douglas Luiz value to find the net for a seventh time.
West Han vs Crystal Palace
West Ham have been grinding out wins over the past few weeks and can chalk up another one at the expense of London rivals Crystal Palace.
The Hammers, minus Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen, have definitely lost some of their edge going forward, though even in their combined absence they have managed to sneak a 2-1 win at Burnley in the Premier League and a 1-0 victory at TSC in the Europa League.
David Moyes is hopeful Bowen will be fit for the visit of the Eagles, themselves weakened by the absence of their creative jewel Eberechi Eze with an ankle injury.
Since winning at Manchester United six weeks ago, Palace have amassed just four points from a possible 18, the only win in that run being a 2-0 triumph at Burnley.
Roy Hodgson's men have won just four times in the league so far and three of those were on the road.
But the absence of Eze does leave them light on imagination and West Ham, who play a risk-free game at home as well as away, are unlikely to leave the Eagles too much space to roam on the counter.
Palace are scoring at a rate of exactly one goal per game and while that statistic, plus a general sense that neither of these two are the most exciting teams in the top division, might suggest this will be a low-scorer, history tells us otherwise.
Incredibly, both teams have scored in each of the last 12 top-flight meetings between these London rivals and 10 of the last 13 clashes have produced three goals or more.
