Fulham v Manchester City – The Opposition

Manchester City travel to west London to face relegation threatened Fulham at Craven Cottage. Victory for the blues will open a 17-point gap at the top of the table and move another step towards the Premier League title.

Fulham have been in the bottom half of the table most of the season and will be looking for the three points that could potentially take them out of the relegation zone, dependent on the results of both Brighton and Newcastle., so both teams have everything to play for.

Form

After a difficult return to the Premier League that has made them strong candidates for the drop, Fulham have gone on a bit of a run and are now level on points with Brighton in 17^th place, and only sit below the Seagulls by just three goals.

The Cottagers have lost just two of their last 10 Premier League matches, winning three and drawing five, an impressive run that has seen them win at both Everton and Liverpool and secure a credible 0-0 draw at home to West Ham.

But despite that run, Fulham have the second worst home record in the league, having won just two and losing eight of their fourteen home games so far this season. At home, they have scored just eight goals all season, the worst record in the league this season. They have, however only conceded 18 at home, a record that is better than United and Leicester (19 each). By comparison, City have only conceded eight goals away from home, the best record in the league and have scored 25 on their travels, the third highest.

Danger Men

Bobby De Cordova-Reid is Fulham’s top scorer with 7 goals so far. Having played 29 matches, De Cordova-Reid has attempted 26 shots, which gives him a goal conversion rate of 27%, and has a shot accuracy of 50%.

Ademola Lookman has scored 4 from 26 games, but with 40 shots at goal, his goal conversion rate is just 10%, but has a shot accuracy of 50% also.

Aleksandar Mitrovic leads the way on the assist chart with 4 from 25 matches. The former Newcastle man has also chipped in with three goals and has created 15 chances. The on to watch though is André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who has 3 assists from 29 matches, but with 996 of his attempted 1,176 passes, Anguissa has the highest pass accuracy rate of regular first team players with 85%.

Who’s The Boss?

Scott Parker has just celebrated two years in charge at Craven Cottage, having replaced Claudio Ranieri in February 2019. Parker spent four years at Fulham as a player, making over 100 appearances for the Cottagers. The Fulham hot-seat is his first managerial role.

We’ve Got Previous

The blues have locked horns with Fulham on many occasions but haven’t beaten City home or away since April 2009. Remember, remember Fulham’s last home win? It came on 5^th November 2005 when the home side won 2-1.

The last time these two met was in December 2020, when City won 2-0, and the last meeting at Craven Cottage ended with victory for City when the blues won 2-0 in March 2019.