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Fulham boss Marco Silva expects a \u201ctough game\u201d against Chelsea despite Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s side making a poor start to the season.<\/p>\n
Chelsea have taken just five points from their opening six Premier League games and head to Craven Cottage, where they lost 2-0 in January, for a west London derby on Monday.<\/p>\n
Silva touched on his relationship with the under-fire Pochettino and the Argentinean\u2019s pedigree as a manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I respect him like I do all the managers but I have a very good relationship with Mauricio,\u201d Silva said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t know how many times we\u2019ve played each other in the Premier League but he\u2019s a very good manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at what he did at Southampton, then Tottenham and then the spell in France (with Paris St Germain) \u2013 with the CV he has he\u2019s come back to England to manage Chelsea, which is a tough job much like many jobs in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have huge respect for him, he\u2019s a very good manager and a very good guy and it will be nice to see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelsea fell to a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last week where Malo Gusto and Nicolas Jackson picked up suspensions for Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
Silva refused to take confidence from Chelsea\u2019s recent league form \u2013 they have not scored in their last three, taking only one point \u2013 and highlighted the quality in their squad after a \u00a31 billion-plus revamp since last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough game,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cChelsea is Chelsea and no-one can underestimate them because the quality is there.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course they haven\u2019t started the way they would of liked to and since Mauricio come in they are trying to get them in a position to fight for titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Chelsea it doesn\u2019t matter what they did in the last few games, after the defeat to Villa they reacted and they won against Brighton in the Carabao Cup which is a goal for them (to win).<\/p>\n
Chelsea is Chelsea and no one can underestimate them because the quality is there<\/p>\n
\u201cSince January they have signed a big number of players who are very good and these things take time.<\/p>\n
\u201cMauricio, the staff and the players will want to keep improving and to react and if we underestimate them it will be the first big mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silva highlighted the importance of the derby to Fulham fans.<\/p>\n
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He said: \u201cWe play at home and it\u2019s a derby, a special one for our fans and we want to play for the shirt and make them proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game is important for our fans, we want to be competitive, fight for the three points and to make their life (Chelsea) difficult as well.\u201d<\/p>\n