Fulham vs Man City preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Manchester City travel to West London on Saturday to face Fulham as they look to occupy first position for the first time in recent weeks. 

City will look to usurp Arsenal to move two points clear at the top but their longevity at the top of the table will depend on Arsenal’s result on Sunday when they travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Pep Guardiola’s side still hold the advantage having played a game fewer than their title challenger, and winning all remaining games will mean City will be crowned champions for a recorded fifth consecutive time.

The defending Champions are not looking to relent in any effort in their chase for a record fifth consecutive Premier League title. They have scored at least four goals in their last six matches which include the 4:1 win over Villa, the 4:2 win over Palace, the 5:1 win over Luton Town, the 4:0 win over Brighton and most recently the 5:1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Since suffering a 1:0 loss to Aston Villa at Villa Park in December, Pep Guardiola’s side are not looking to take their feet off the pedestal as they’ve gone on to secure eight wins in their last nine away games in the League with the only exception being the thrilling 1:1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield Stadium in March.

They extended their unbeaten streak when they welcomed Wolves to Etihad Stadium on Saturday as Erling Haaland’s haul and Julian Alvarez’s strike put Gary O’Neil’s side to the sword.

City now head into the clash against Fulham in red-hot form, scaling through their last 20 matches in the League without a defeat while recording 16 wins and four draws in that run.

On the other hand, Fulham will look to end an abysmal run of 15 consecutive defeats against City at Craven Cottage when they host the defending champions on Saturday.

The West London side have endured a mixed run of results since the turn of the year and are not as impressive as there were last season where they finished in the top-ten for the first time in over a decade.

Despite recording five wins in 2024, six defeats and five draws in 16 games have blockaded Fulham’s chance of finishing in the top ten as well as matching their record-setting 50-point mark in the Premier League last season.

More worrying for Marco Silva’s side is their run of three games without a win, losing to Liverpool and recording draws against Crystal Palace and Brentford.

In their last Premier League outing, the Cottagers played out a goalless draw against Brentford at the Gtech Stadium, as missed opportunities prevented either side from acquiring all three points.

Fulham will now look to record their first win in three matches at home but face the difficult task of stopping a rampaging Haaland from scoring his sixth goal in four matches against them, as well as stopping City from setting a new record of 16 consecutive goals and wins at Craven Cottage.

Fulham vs Man City match details 

• Date: Saturday, May 11, 2024
• Location: London, England
• Venue: Craven Cottage
• Kick-off time: 12.30 PM BST, 11:30 UTC, 7:30 AM ET
• Referee: Anthony Taylor
• Assistant referees: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
• Fourth official: Keith Stroud
• VAR: David Coote
• Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Fulham tickets through the official club website or via trusted resellers like Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• City have won their last three away matches in the Premier League with two of those matches ending with a two-goal margin.

• Guardiola’s side have conceded the opening goal in four of their last five away games against London opponents. The only exception was their opener in the 4:4 draw against Chelsea in November 2023.

• The Cityzens 15-game unbeaten run over Fulham began in the 3:1 win at Craven Cottage in April 2009. Another win here will set a new League record for most wins against a single opponent.

• City have won their last 15 matches against Fulham across all competitions – the joint-longest winning streak by a team against an opponent in Premier League history.

• Erling Haaland has scored a penalty in each of his three matches against the Cottagers in the Premier League, another penalty on Saturday will make Haaland the first player to score a penalty on four consecutive matches against a single opponent.

• Only Liverpool (24) have hit the woodwork more times than Fulham (18) this season, while Fulham’s woodwork has been struck more times than any other team this season(19).

• The Cityzens have scored on all 15 of their last Premier League away matches against Fulham, making it the joint-longest scoring streak in Premier League history alongside Man Utd who have also scored in their 15 away trips to Middlesbrough.

• Fulham have won just one of their last 15 Premier League matches at home against City, suffering nine defeats and five draws. Their last victory at home came in the 2:1 win in November 2005.

Team news

Fulham are sweating over the fitness of Harrison Reed who missed the clash against Brentford with a knock. The 29-year-old has however returned to training and will hope to be fit in time for the clash against City.

Highly sought-after defender, Tosin Adarabioyo has been ousted out of the team for the last two matches due to a contract extension fiasco with the club. Hence the former City youngster is unlikely to be part of Fulham’s squad that will face his former club.

Guardiola will be walking on sunshine with a spring in his step, knowing his team is injury-free for the Fulham clash and possibly the rest of the season.

First-choice goalkeeper, Éderson recovered from a shoulder problem to start in goal against Wolves last weekend while Ruben Dias has also made a full recovery from illness. Phil Foden who was reportedly I’ll is fully fit and in contention for a starting spot.

Predicted starting lineup 

Fulham predicted starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Lukic; Iwobi, Pereira, Willian; Muniz.

Man City predicted starting lineup:

Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Stones; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.

Prediction

Fulham are not in the best form at the moment and their current home form is a complete contrast to the beginning of the season where they recorded seven wins in ten matches including memorable victories against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Their Premier League safety means the Cottagers are not playing to gain a spot in Europe or to avoid relegation, rather playing for Pride and finishing strong might be the plan going forward.

However, facing a rampaging City side with such poor form might prove detrimental and will need to revive their early season form to take anything out of this game.

With the opportunity to top the table this week, City will be all out to extend their unbeaten run to 21 games on Saturday.

We’re predicting a 3:1 win for City.