Fulham vs Manchester City
Date: 13/03/2021
Time: 20:00
Venue: Craven Cottage
Referee: Andre Marriner
TV: BT Sport
Fulham are making a strong case for Premier League survival late in the season, with the victory over defending champions Liverpool at Anfield topping off a nice 5-game run in which they’ve closed the gap on Brighton to zero points, albeit having played an extra game.
The run of games coming up aren’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, but Scott Parker’s side would be hoping to make the most of them en route to a great escape.
Pep Guardiola’s side, on the other side of the table, succumbed surprisingly to neighbours Manchester United but responded in style with a 5-2 thumping of Southampton. They’ll be hoping to start another streak of victories and close out the season with as much silverware as humanly possible.
Riyad Mahrez was in unplayable form on Wednesday night, and Kevin De Bruyne converted twice from open play, to extend the Sky Blues’ lead at the top of the table to 14 points (with an extra game played). The loss to United showed that while City do appear to have an unassailable lead, it’s not over until it’s over. Further, with Fulham’s present run of form, I’d be surprised to see anything but a very strong lineup out of Pep, before his side do it all over again in the Champions League against Monchengladbach.
Fulham’s perseverance, coupled with Brighton’s seeming inevitability to always out xG the opposition, yet never see their chances converted, has turned what seemed like an open and shut case of the three relegated names for a spin; Fulham, Brighton, Newcastle and Burnley all have a task ahead of them, and the next fortnight could be crucial in the fight for survival.
Team News
Fulham
Club captain Tom Cairney returned to training in midweek, having been out of action since December. It is because of that very reason that Scott Parker will not risk him over the weekend, suggesting a spell with the U-23s may be on the cards in order for the midfielder to regain full match fitness.
Tosin Adarabioyo looks set to start against the team whose academy he graduated from, and he’ll be keen to show them how far he’s come since making the move in the summer.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola confirmed Nathan Ake’s return from injury earlier in the week, and with the return of the Holland defender, City round out a fully fit squad, as they look to take the proverbial bull by the horns.
De Bruyne scored twice and Ilkay Gundogan continued his fine goalscoring form in 2021; both players made strong cases to start this game, but while Guardiola will indeed send out a strong lineup on Saturday, he will have an eye on the second league of the CL. It will be interesting to see what squad he sends out to London.
Predicted Starting XIs
Fulham (4-4-2): Areola; Aina, Anderson, Adarabioyo, Robinson; Cordova-Reid, Lemina, Reed, Lookman; Maja, Cavaliero
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling
Score Prediction: Fulham 0-2 Manchester City
Southampton bore the full brunt of Manchester City’s post-derby loss wrath, and with the runaway league leaders scoring nine in their two games sandwiching the derby, one would expect City’s prowess in front of goal to continue.
Fulham were fully deserving of their victory away at Anfield and were also rather unfortunate to see Tottenham run away with three points at Craven Cottage. However, as this season has shown us in the 28 games past, Manchester City are a different side, with a different mentality. It should be an away victory.
