Fulham vs Manchester City

Manchester City’s bid to defend the Premier League title for the second season in a row takes them to Craven Cottage to meet mid-table Fulham this weekend.

Not long ago, it looked like Fulham could win European promotion against the odds. However, the wheels fell off, with Marco Silva’s side suffering five defeats in their last seven league outings (W2), including a 1-0 loss at Aston Villa in midweek Premier League action. Back to Elland Road, where they ousted Leeds United 2-1 in their most recent match-up to snap a three-match winless league streak on home turf (D1, L2), the ‘Cottagers’ face a traditionally formidable opponent. Indeed, they’ve gone winless in their last 15 top-flight encounters against Man City (D3, L12), going down 3-0 in this corresponding fixture in 2021/22. Another disappointment is on the cards after Fulham failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight league games, conceding an average of 1.62 goals per match.

In the meantime, Manchester City wrestled back control of the Premier League title race with an overwhelming 4-1 home victory over Arsenal in midweek, making it 17 straight competitive fixtures without losing (W14, D3). In the Premier League alone, Pep Guardiola’s high-flyers have won their last seven matches by an aggregate score of 22-4, reducing the gap on Arsenal to only two points with two games in hand. Having qualified for the Champions League semi-finals and the FA Cup grand final, the ‘Citizens’ are in contention to equal Manchester United’s historic treble from 1998/99 and become only the second English side to achieve that feat. Confidence is oozing out of every pore as Guardiola’s men take this trip having recorded a pair of 4-1 victories on their last three league travels.