Fulham vs Man City – Analysis, Prediction, Team News

As part of our weekend Premier League predictions, we take a look at Man City’s trip to Fulham. City have an impressive 28 points from their last 10 matches and look to be favourites for the title – can Fulham get anything? Read on with our Fulham vs Man City prediction.

Fulham vs Man City Preview

The hosts are stuck in Premier League no man’s land; safe from relegation, highly unlikely to qualify for Europe. A win at Villa Park might have changed that, but Aston Villa are in superb form with 26 points from their last 10 matches, so that was perhaps an unlikely scenario. Fulham actually played well on the day but Villa have also conceded just three goals during that run which is evidence of just how well-organised they have become under Unai Emery.

Fulham face away days at Anfield and Old Trafford, with a pair of matches in between against relegation-threatened Leicester and Southampton before facing a Crystal Palace who are now considered to be safe. Fulham’s record at Craven Cottage this season is a reasonable one, with seven wins from 16 matches and just five defeats, but Manchester City have stepped things up over their last five away matches and Fulham’s record to this point wouldn’t appear to count for much.

Squad rotation would appear to be the order of the day for Pep Guardiola’s side, but with the kind of talent that City have access to on the bench, we don’t anticipate any real drop in quality from them. If Kevin De Bruyne doesn’t play as we anticipate he won’t, then City will probably adjust how they approach this match to rely a little more on wing play through Grealish and Mahrez, but otherwise, it will probably be business as usual.

City’s run of form has put them in the driving seat for the Premier League title race. Though Arsenal are still nominally top of the table, City have two games in hand and are just two points behind Mikel Arteta’s men. While we’re not suggesting that Man City are invincible, they have improved markedly over the last couple of months and a tactical shift now means they’re able to present threats via possession-based opportunities i.e probing for mistakes and dragging players out of position, or devastating teams in transition with their myriad attacking threats and the considerable threat of Erling Haaland.

Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Fulham:

Might Not Play:

Will Not Play: Kurzawa, Mitrovic, Willian

Man City:

Might Not Play:

Will Not Play: Ake, De Bruyne

Fulham vs Man City Lineups (Predicted)

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Robinson, Ream, Adarabioyo, Tete; Reed, Palhinha; Wilson, Pereira, Decordova-Reid; Vinicius

Man City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias; Lewis; Rodri, Stones; Grealish, Gundogan, Mahrez, Alvarez; Haaland

Our Prediction

Now the reverse fixture was keenly contested, with City winning 2-1 thanks to an Erling Haaland penalty in the 95th minute. However, there were a number of caveats and we don’t think that will be particularly relevant here. Firstly, City were down to 10 men from the 26th minute following Cancelo’s red card. Secondly, they’re much better at defending against the counter now with a rejigged 3-2-4-1 formation.

Finally, Fulham aren’t in the same kind of form as they were at that time. They’ve fallen out of the race for European qualification, and while their season can still be considered to be a resounding success, they don’t inspire confidence in their ability to get anything against a City side in this kind of form. They’re also clearly missing the considerable presence of Mitrovic who has led the line to great effect for them this season.

Fulham 0-3 Man City

 Fulham vs Man City Betting Tip – Man City -1 (win by 2 goals or more) Odds: