Fulham travels to the North West today to take on reigning Premier League Champions, Manchester City.
The Cottagers has had a fantastic start to their Premier League campaign, returning to the top flight after a season in the Championship. Picking up points against teams such as Liverpool, Brentford, and Leeds United has put Marco Silva's team in the top half of the division after 13 games. Fulham will believe they have a good chance to beat Manchester City after an impressive performance last time they met.
Manchester City, true to form, has had a flying start to the season, suffering their only defeat of the season at Anfield. Despite their impressive start, they sit second in the league behind Mikel Arteta's Arsenal - a man that Guardiola spent a lot of time mentoring. For City, beating Fulham will mean a return to the top spot... For at least a day.
The two sides met back in February 2022, in a FA Cup fourth-round match. Finishing 4-1 to the Citizens, the first goal came from now-Liverpool player Fabio Carvalho. Despite losing a great young talent in Carvalho, Fulham has arguably a stronger team since their last appearance at the Etihad Stadium. Willian, Layvin Kurzawa, and Bernd Leno have all joined the West London side, bringing European experience to the Premier League newcomers.
Team News
Manchester City
Starman and current Premier League goalscorer (17 goals in 11 games) Erling Haaland is expected to make an appearance at Craven Cottage, after sustaining a foot injury against his former club, Borussia Dortmund last month.
Manuel Akanji, another City summer signing, is also making positive progress after he was forced off against Leicester with a minor knock.
Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips remain on the sidelines.
Fulham
The home team see a handful of players ineligible for the game, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid suspended following his fifth booking of the season against Everton.
Wingers Neeskens Kebano and Manor Soloman are also absent for the Cottagers, after sustaining an Achilles injury and knee injury respectively.
Some positive news for Fulham, however, with the potential of a return for Paris Saint-Germain-loanee Layvin Kurzawa. The Frenchman is back in training, so could make an appearance for the West London side.
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Likely Lineups
Manchester City
Ederson; Stones, Akanki, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish.
Fulham
Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; James, Pereira, Willian; Mitrovic.
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Key Players
Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne will, as always, be Man City's main man today. Despite the goalscoring monster that is Erling Haaland, there are no guarantees that he will feature. De Bruyne is arguably one of the best playmakers in the world, along with his short and long-range passing. His vision and partnership with the front line has put him at the top of the assists leaderboard (9 assists and 3 goals in 12 games).
Fulham
Aleksandar Mitrovic has one of the biggest attacking presences in the Premier League. Currently sitting third overall in the goal-scoring rankings (9 goals in 12 games), Mitrovic has been sensational for his side this season. The issue Fulham may have is getting the ball to him however and will need to break down a very well-structured Man City side.
Match Details
Manchester City host Fulham on Saturday 5th November, kicking off at 3pm (UK).
The match will not broadcast live in the UK, but radio commentary can be found on talkSPORT. Live text and audio commentary can also be found at mancity.com.
