Manchester City vs Fulham, EFL Cup Round 4: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 EFL “Carabao” Cup – Round 4

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Fulham – Thursday, 1 November 2018, 19:45 (UK & Nigeria); 15:45 EST, 12:45 PST (USA); 23:45 IST (India)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Assistants: Stephen Child, Lee Betts

Fourth Official: Paul Tierney

TV Info: N/A

Live Stream: ESPN+ (USA)

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK); SiriusXM FC (USA)

Preview:

Following an exciting weekend in the 2018/19 English Premier League, Manchester City will shift their focus to the EFL “Carabao” Cup Round 4. They will host Fulham on Thursday.

The Blues are running rampant this season. Aside from a loss against Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League, the Blues have collected 11 wins and two draws out of 14 matches in all competitions. They hold a goal differential of +30, having scored 36 whilst conceding six. City have dominated their opponents, and it is without a doubt they will continue this trend on Thursday.

Manchester City have recently had a congested schedule, however, as they traveled to Wembley earlier this week. They will host Fulham in the EFL Cup Round 4 on Thursday, and will then play against Southampton on Sunday. Given that City have another UEFA Champions League fixture next week, fatigue will surely affect some of these players. Therefore, it is predicted City may shake things up in their starting lineup.

Fulham, unfortunately, have struggled this season. The Cottagers have only collected three victories out of 12 matches in all competitions. Moreover, they have only registered one clean sheet throughout this period. In short, the Cottagers have had a poor start to their 2018/19 English campaign.

Based on the current standings in the EPL table, the Cottagers sit in seventeenth place. Whilst there are still 28 matches to play, it is assumed Fulham will begin prioritize their season, as EPL safety will be the most important on their list.

Team News:

Manchester City are without the injured Claudio Bravo and Danilo. İlkay Gündoğan and Eliaquim Mangala have returned from their injury spells, but it is unknown if they will feature in this match.

Fulham’s Calum Chambers, Joe Bryan and Neeskens Kebanoare are sidelined with injuries.

Possible Lineups:

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Zinchenko; B. Silva, De Bruyne, D. Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Sané

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Fulham

Formation: 4-3-3

Bettinelli; Fosu-Mensah, Odoi, Mawson, Marchand; Anguissa, McDonald, Seri; Schürrle, Mitrović, Vietto

Manager: Slaviša Jokanović

Prediction:

Aside from the result against Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester City have outplayed their competition by a score of 36 to six. Moreover, they have kept six clean sheets in their last six EPL matches, and nine clean sheets in 14 matches in all competitions. In other words, it seems City have fixed some of their defensive issues from last season and have increased their productivity in front of goal.

Fulham will need to be defensively composed in order to obtain a result in this fixture. City are heavily favoured in this match. Yet anything is possible, as demonstrated by City’s previous encounters against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup. Should Fulham maintain a strong defensive performance, they could potentially sneak a goal against the Blues on a counter attack. If they wish to progress to the EFL Cup’s Quarter-finals, the Cottagers will need produce a strong result, and some luck.

Nonetheless, it is hard to bet against the Blues in this match. It is predicted City will face a stubborn Fulham side, but by fulltime the hosts will claim a comfortable victory.

Manchester City 3-1 Fulham