Manchester City’s bid for a record fourth successive Premier League title faces another hurdle this Saturday lunchtime when the reigning champions visit Fulham.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been victorious in their last six Premier League games and now sit just a point off table-toppers Arsenal with a game in hand. With the Gunners travelling to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, the Cityzens can pile pressure on the north London outfit with a victory at Craven Cottage.
Fulham’s recent form, teamed with the fact that they have nothing to play for in the final few matches of the campaign, makes it difficult to look past yet another win for City. However, the Cottagers have beaten both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage this season, underlining their potential to cause a title-deciding upset.
However, the reverse fixture is unlikely to fill Fulham supporters with confidence. The west London club travelled to the Etihad back in early September, a game they lost 5-1 with Erling Haaland scoring a hat-trick. The Norwegian warmed up for the trip to the capital by netting four against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
Fulham vs Man City H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Fulham |
Man City |
|---|---|
|
Brentford 0-0 Fulham – 04/05/24 |
Man City 5-1 Wolves – 04/05/24 |
|
Fulham 1-1 Crystal Palace – 27/04/24 |
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City – 28/04/24 |
|
Fulham 1-3 Liverpool – 21/04/24 |
Brighton 0-4 Man City – 25/04/24 |
|
West Ham 0-2 Fulham – 14/04/24 |
Man City 1-0 Chelsea – 20/04/24 |
|
Fulham 0-1 Newcastle – 06/04/24 |
Man City 1-1 Real Madrid (3-4 on pens) – 17/04/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel / live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, discovery+, discovery+ App |
|
United States |
USA Network, NBC Sports App, nbcsports.com, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, UNIVERSO, UNIVERSO NOW |
|
Canada |
fuboTV |
Marco Silva has just the one fitness concern to contend with ahead of the visit of the champions, with Harrison Reed a doubt. The midfielder returned to training over a week ago so has a good chance of being available.
With the rest of his squad fully fit, Silva is unlikely to change too much from the team that drew 0-0 with Brentford last time out.
Fulham predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Palhinha, Iwobi, Pereira, Willian; Muniz.
Not being involved in the latter stages of the Champions League has helped ease Guardiola’s fitness concerns during the Premier League run-in and he has a fully fit squad to choose from in west London this weekend.
However, with a game away against Tottenham to come on Tuesday evening, ‘Pep roulette’ may be in full flow as he looks to share out the workload.
Man City predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.
City have shown few signs of fallibility in recent weeks and have breezed past the obstacles standing in the way of yet another Premier League crown. With a clean bill of health and confidence high, they will be strong favourites at Craven Cottage.
Fulham have been in end of season mode over the past few weeks with successive tame draws against fellow London clubs. They have lost their last 15 matches with the Cityzens in all competitions and that unwanted streak is likely to be extended this weekend.