Defending champions Manchester City welcome Fulham at home, with both teams on the hunt for three points this weekend.
City, who are unbeaten in the league so far, will be looking to return to the top of the tree after dropping four points from their last two games, including the 2-2 home draw against Arsenal.
Marco Silva’s Fulham have enjoyed a great start to the season with three wins from six so far, with their only defeat coming against Manchester United on opening day.
During their unbeaten run, the Cottagers have picked up wins against Leicester City, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
As for the Premier League table heading into the weekend, Manchester City currently sits second on 14 points, just one behind leaders Liverpool. Three points at home would take them top.
Fulham, who are in sixth place with 11 points, are ahead of both Newcastle and Tottenham and victory could see them go into the top four.
City will be fresh following their UEFA Champions League match midweek, following their 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava but were dealt a huge blow as star midfielder Rodrigo would be out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
The Citizens have won each of their last 16 meetings with Fulham, the longest winning run one English side has over another in history.
Moreover, Pep Guardiola’s team beat the Cottagers 4-0 away last season.
Fulham have only ever beaten City four times in the Premier League at the Etihad (2006, 2008 and 2009). They are winless in a total of 18 games in the league (drawn three lost 15) and have lost their last 13 in a row.
Coming into the weekend, Man City dropped points for the second matchweek in a row after a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.
Josko Gvardiol scored for his side. Fulham beat Nottingham Forest by 1-0 after Raul Jimenez scored the only goal from the penalty spot.
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Team News
Man City
Winger Phil Foden returned to the side for the first time in the Carabao Cup last week and could start against the West London side.
Kevin De Bruyne remains out with an ongoing groin injury, whilst Oscar Bobb (leg) and Rodri, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his knee, are long-term absentees.
Centre-back Nathan Ake continues to recover from a muscle problem he suffered whilst on national duty with the Netherlands since late September.
Fulham
The Cottagers have pretty much a full squad to select from but striker Carlos Vinicius and defender Jorge Cuenca remain with injury.
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Possible line-ups
Man City
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Stones, Kovacic; B. Silva, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland
Fulham
Leno; Tete, Anderson, Bassey, Robinson; Andreas Pereira, Lukic; Traore, Smith-Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez
Man City: Erling Haaland
Norwegian goal-machine Haaland already has 10 goals in the league, sitting top of the scoring charts, four strikes more than his next challenger. The City striker has a good record over the West London side scoring five goals in his last four meetings. The last time the two sides met at the Etihad, Haaland scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 win.
Fulham: Emile Smith-Rowe
Leaving his boyhood club Arsenal was a difficult pill to swallow, but Smith-Rowe's move to Fulham is gradually paying off. Regular first-team minutes is what the Englishman always wanted and manager Silva has provided that.
The midfielder has made a positive start with the Cottagers, contributing two goals and an assist in the league. Playing in the No.10 attacking midfield role, Smith-Rowe will be expected to supply a lot of goalscoring chances for his teammates and even on the scoresheet himself.
In the 56 previous meetings between the two sides, City has won 35 of those contests to Fulham’s 11, including the last Etihad encounter where City won 5-1 in September 2023.
The Citizens have won a penalty in each of their last six matches with the Cottagers scoring all six in this run.
Since losing their opening day game against United, Fulham are now unbeaten in their last five (won three and drawn two).
Haaland has scored 60 goals in just 52 games in all competitions at the Etihad Stadium for Man City. He’s already the fourth-highest goalscorer at the ground since it opened in 2003.
Fulham’s Andreas Pereira has created 20 chances in the Premier League this season, only Dwight McNeil of Everton (21) has more.
Cottagers striker Rodrigo Muniz has had more shots on target without scoring so far than any other player in the Premier League this term (five).
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How to watch the game
Manchester City v Fulham at the Etihad in the Premier League takes place on Saturday 5th October 2024 at 3pm blackout, so it will not be shown live on TV.
However, the match can be accessed via Sky Sports website and BBC Sport website in the United Kingdom. For viewers in the United States, TV coverage will be available from 10:00 EST on all relevant networks.
