In between both legs of a Champions League semi-final, there is a risk of downplaying the significance of the action when Scott Parker brings his struggling side to Stamford Bridge tonight but this could prove to be a pivotal weekend in the race for the top four.

Liverpool travel to Manchester United on Sunday, while West Ham don’t play until Monday night, away at Burnley, which means Chelsea could open up a six-point buffer on those chasing rivals with four games remaining.

Hudson-Odoi’s assessment of the fight to play Champions League football again next season is positive but he knows we must not take our foot off the gas in the final furlong.

‘Our aim is to get top four and right now we’re in a good position,’ the 20-year-old says. ‘Every game that comes to us, we want to take it and hopefully try to get the three points in each game.

‘This is a massive game for us so we’re all ready to step up and play our part. Fulham are a good team with good players but we’ve done really well lately so I think the manager and us players know what we need to do to win the game.’

For those involved on the pitch, it may be an ordinary weekend in the Premier League. However, football’s boycott of social media in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by many in the game will be felt far and wide by fans, followers and the wider public.

Hudson-Odoi, who has been the victim of racist abuse both online and in person whilst playing football, is pleased to see organisations and individuals coming together over an issue he feels strongly about. Central to the boycott is the lack of action from social media companies to tackle hateful, abusive and discriminatory behaviour on their platforms, which the young England international believes is a big issue.

‘The whole club are behind it and everybody has the same message because it’s something that we need to get out of social media as soon as possible,’ he explains. ‘As players, we try to give our best every time we step on the pitch so seeing those comments when things don’t go our way is really hurtful.

‘My family see it as well and they’re just thinking “wow, my son is receiving all this abuse.” It’s hard to take, especially as parents when you see people calling your son all these things.

‘With most of the comments, we can say something about it but it never gets dealt with. I feel like the situation will always still be there. They [social media companies] don’t do enough to punish the people that say certain things or bring up racist abuse.

‘Sometimes it’s just let go so I think they need to start being more ruthless in what they do with actions. Hopefully they can punish the people who create certain things because if we don’t then they’re going to carry on and keep going until who knows when.’

As a young boy growing up, Hudson-Odoi dreamt of being a professional footballer, inspired by his older brother’s progress through the youth academy programme at Fulham. He recalls growing up watching his sibling play for the Cottagers, prior to his own fledgling career getting started with Chelsea when he was nine.

‘I used to watch my brother’s games all the time and it was nice to be around an academy and see stuff like that, especially as it was my older brother trying to aspire to his dreams and become a professional footballer,’ he says.

‘After I joined Chelsea, we played against Fulham loads of times but I remember one game when I was really young and my brother had just left them. He told me to try and score as many goals against them as possible!

‘I think I scored 14 in that game and I was proud about that. It’s always good to play Fulham and it’s a derby for us as well so it’s a big game.’

While the Blues have recorded some impressive results in recent weeks, our form at the Bridge has been patchy. In the Premier League, we’ve picked up twice as many points on the road as at home in the last eight matches and Hudson-Odoi admits the players know things must improve quickly on that front.

‘We’re all aware of our home form and the fact we need to get more points at home,’ he adds. ‘Going away, we’re doing really well and picking up lots of points but at home now we need to start stepping up and getting the wins because all points are pivotal.

‘Our home form needs to be better and this game could be a good step in that direction.’