Fulham vs Manchester City

Manchester City’s Premier League title defense continues at Craven Cottage as they take on out-of-sorts Fulham. 

An array of misses on both ends of the field saw Fulham share the spoils with Brentford in a goalless draw last weekend, extending the Cottagers’ winless league run to three games (D2, L1). By extension, Marco Silva’s men have only claimed one win across their seven previous Premier League matches (D3, L3) as the lack of motivation at the backend of the season starts to take its toll. Another underwhelming result is in store, not least because Fulham’s last 15 competitive meetings with Manchester City have ended in defeat! Making it 16 on the trot would mark the Cottagers’ worst-ever run against a specific top-flight opposition, which, after a 5-1 demolition in the reverse fixture, looks like a virtual certainty.

Meanwhile, Manchester City can’t afford to let their superb run against Fulham end this weekend as they head into this encounter a point adrift of table-topping Arsenal, albeit in a buoyant mood after winning their last six league matches! Pep Guardiola’s high-flying side dispatched Wolverhampton 5-1 at home in the previous round to maintain the pressure on the Gunners. With a game in hand, the Citizens remain odds-on to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title. Adding to Man City’s confidence, they’ve bagged 2+ goals on their last eight visits to Craven Cottage, while they’ve not lost a competitive away match since December 2023. Indeed, since a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa toward the end of the last calendar year, the visitors have won 13 out of 15 games on hostile turf (D2).