Manchester City vs Fulham, Premier League Matchday 5: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 English Premier League Season – Matchday 5

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Fulham – Saturday, 15 September 2018, 15:00 (UK & Nigeria); 10:00 EST, 07:00 PST (USA); 19:00 IST (India)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Richard West

Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson

TV Info: NBCSN (USA)

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live (USA)

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK); TalkSport Radio World (USA)

Preview:

The September international break has ended, and Manchester City’s footballers have returned from their international duty. How might the Blues fare on matchday 5?

Prior to the international break, Manchester City started their new domestic campaign on a high, having earned three wins and one draw from their first four matches. The Blues will be disappointed to have dropped points against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but overall they have done well at the start of the 2018/19 English Premier League season.

Fulham, too, have had a good start to their campaign. Despite losing to Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season, the Cottagers have earned one victory and two draws in the EPL after four matches. Moreover, they comfortably overcame Exeter City in the EFL Cup – Round 2 last month. With these performances in mind, they will now shift their focus toward the unthinkable: earning a shocking result against the Champions.

Team News:

Manchester City are still without the injured Kevin De Bruyne and Claudio Bravo. Danilo, who missed the opening set of matches due to a knee injury, has returned to training.

As for Fulham, Neeskens Kebano remains sidelined with a malleolar injury. Tim Ream has slowly returned to training.

Possible Lineups:

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; B. Silva, Gündoğan, D. Silva; Sterling, Agüero, Mahrez

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Fulham

Formation: 4-3-3

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

Manager: Slaviša Jokanović

Prediction:

Manchester City will be eager to continue their strong start to the season and earning another victory this weekend could help build their momentum. Moreover, the Blues will host Olympique Lyons on Wednesday in their first 2018/19 UEFA Champions League Group Stage match, and it is likely the Blues will have their fixture in the back of their minds. A victory over Fulham could certainly help boost their motivation for the upcoming Champions League match. On the other hand, the Blues will need to stay focused if they are to retain their title this season.

Fulham, however, will have other ideas in mind. The last time the Cottagers defeated the Blues at home was during the 2005/06 EPL season, where the visitors won 1-2. Whilst the odds are stacked against them, stranger things have happened, and the visitors will hope to replicate a similar shocking result on Saturday.

It seems Manchester City have too many things in their favor, however, and with their upcoming Champions League match in mind, they will be sure to earn a result over the weekend. The Blues simply blew away their opposition last season, and their fans would expect nothing less during this campaign.

Manchester City 3-1 Fulham