Manchester City Seek to Extend Unbeaten Home Run Against In-Form Fulham
Premier League champions Manchester City will host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, aiming to return to winning ways in the top flight. After consecutive draws, the Citizens are looking to avoid going three Premier League games without a victory for the first time this season.
Match Preview
Pep Guardiola’s men shook off their recent domestic frustration with a resounding 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Despite dominating possession and creating numerous chances, it took second-half goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and a first senior strike for James McAtee to secure the points.
Guardiola was pleased with his side’s performance in Slovakia, praising the squad for their improvements in attack. However, City's focus now shifts back to the Premier League, where they sit two points off the summit after last weekend's 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.
City boast an incredible record against Fulham, having won their last 16 meetings with the Cottagers across all competitions—the longest winning streak in English football league history between two teams. Moreover, a win or even a draw will extend Manchester City’s unbeaten home run to an astonishing 50 games.
Fulham, meanwhile, are enjoying their best Premier League start since 2003, collecting 11 points from their first six games. Under Marco Silva, the Cottagers are unbeaten in their last five Premier League outings and have won their last two matches, including a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, where Raul Jimenez scored his 50th Premier League goal.
Jimenez, however, was involved in some controversy after taking a penalty that Andreas Pereira was supposed to take, which Silva has since confirmed won’t happen again. Despite the incident, Fulham are in fine form but face a daunting task at the Etihad, where they haven’t won since 2009.
Team News
City’s injury list includes Rodri (ACL), Oscar Bobb (leg fracture), Nathan Ake (muscle), and Kevin De Bruyne (groin), with the latter two aiming for returns after the international break. Guardiola is expected to rotate his squad again, bringing back senior players like Ederson, Ruben Dias, and Kyle Walker for this crucial match.
Fulham have fewer injury concerns, with striker Carlos Vinicius nursing a calf issue and defender Jorge Cuenca sidelined with an ankle problem. Marco Silva is likely to stick with the same lineup that secured back-to-back Premier League wins, relying on the creativity of Andreas Pereira and the pace of Adama Traore.
Possible Lineups
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Bernardo, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
Fulham: Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez
Comments
Post a Comment