London - After winning their opening two matches of the Premier League season, Chelsea face their toughest test yet as they make the short trip to Fulham on Sunday. Chelsea came from behind to beat both Hull City and Sunderland and so gain an early advantage in the title race, while their west London rivals Fulham started with a 1-0 win at Portsmouth.
Fulham could hand a first league start for the club to Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff, who joined from Newcastle United on Tuesday.
"I have played against him for a long time, and know his qualities, so it will be a great addition," captain Danny Murphy told dpa.
"The more quality we can have in our squad the more chance we have of a more consistent season.
"In terms of levels of performance I would like to think we can do as well as last season.
"But in terms of position in the League that might be asking a lot because you look at what Manchester City and Tottenham have spent, and we finished above both those last season.
"So we have to be careful not to be too unrealistic, but if you want to progress you have to stay at least on the same level of consistency and quality of performance."
Chelsea, meanwhile, have benefited from a fine start to the season by a player who disappointed last year: Deco.
He believes Carlo Ancelotti's diamond midfield is getting the best out of him.
"The system is good because we have more possession and have the ball all the time," he said.
"We have four in midfield and we can play better than when we had the three."
Tottenham Hotspur, the only other team to have own two games this season, travel to West Ham United on Sunday.
After their humbling at Burnley on Wednesday, champions Manchester United face another test against doughty north-western opposition as they go to Wigan Athletic.
"I am sure we will get a response at Wigan," said manager Sir Alex Ferguson, although they will again be without the injured central defensive duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
"The players are all disappointed. It was a bad result for us. It was a good passing pitch and we should have done better."
After a 6-1 at Everton on the opening day, Arsenal face troubled Portsmouth at home, with manager Artsene Wenger hailing the impact of centre-back Thomas Vermaelen.
"He has a good mix of the physical and technical for a centre-back and it is interesting to have a left-footed player because he gives you angles for the pass which are very important for the midfielder," he said.
Liverpool bounced back from defeat at Tottenham on the opening weekend with victory over Stoke in midweek, and they will look to carry that resurgence into Monday's home game against Aston Villa.
