Fulham vs Everton

Craven Cottage is the venue as Fulham and Everton go head-to-head in a bottom-half Premier League meeting.

Newcastle United effortlessly thumped Marco Silva’s understrength Fulham side 2-0 in their FA Cup duel at the weekend, condemning the ‘Cottagers’ to a fourth consecutive winless game in all competitions (D1, L3). Back to Craven Cottage for a Premier League contest for the first time in 2024, the hosts will be out to build on a morale-boosting 2-1 win against title-bidding Arsenal in their last home league outing of 2023. Anything other than three points would expose Fulham to the risk of plunging further down the table following a dismal run of four defeats from their last five top-flight matches (W1). They’re still relatively safe in mid-table, yet an eight-point lead on 18th-placed Luton could melt in no time unless Silva galvanizes his side soon.

In the meantime, Everton’s off-field turmoil is taking its toll as Sean Dyche’s team slipped to a late 2-1 FA Cup loss to Luton in the build-up to this trip, surrendering a three-game unbeaten streak in competitive action (W1, D2). The ‘Toffees’ have found goals hard to come by lately, averaging a meager 0.62 goals per game across their last eight matches in all competitions. What’s worse, they’ve fired a blank in back-to-back Premier League fixtures ahead of this clash (D1, L1), though a stoic 0-0 home draw against fourth-placed Aston Villa last time out saw them put a three-match losing league streak to bed. Leaving Goodison Park has spelled trouble for Everton lately, as they’ve lost their two most recent top-flight contests on hostile turf after winning four in a row beforehand.