It is finally here! The first game of the Premier League season! And it is a banger with Fulham hosting Chelsea in a match between two of last season's Real Madrid managers - who could have imagined that?! Unfortunately we have to wait through the entire weekend to see Fulham on Monday. And with the kickoff at 3pm EDT, some of us will have to work instead. And since this match is on USA Network, and they are no longer part of NBC, there isn't even a chance for a replay.

While I'm excited for the start of the season, I think Fulham are going to get hammered in this one. Chelsea have looked pretty good in pre-season, and while Fulham have shown promise, I don't have a lot of confidence in Arbeloa. I'm also concerned that Fulham will have to use an a-typical CB pairing, probably Cuenca and Bassey, against some very dangerous players. While I think Fulham's CBs are good, I'm worried there will be moments of confusion that will be exploited by Chelsea.

With Anderson serving the final match of his final red card suspension, the only other absence will be Cairney who is recovering from surgery. I expect Fulham will send out the same starting XI that we saw against Stuttgart. That would mean two of Fulham's past record-signings, Smith Rowe and Kevin, would be on the bench. However, I'm okay with that. I think Palacios and King have looked good and deserve to be given a start.

While I'm expecting bad things on Monday, I am still really hoping for good things. I would love to see King score against Chelsea and not have it overturned this time! That paired with a Fulham win and I couldn't imagine a better start to a season!