Match Preview
Manchester City can pile the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race by continuing their dominance over Fulham on Wednesday.
City claimed what could prove to be a season-defining win last Sunday as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Liverpool.
That victory kept them within six points of the league leaders, a gap that will be cut to three ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Brentford if City overcome Fulham.
City had to work extremely hard to do that in the reverse fixture in December, which saw Fulham almost mount a remarkable comeback from 5-1 down as they lost 5-4 at Craven Cottage.
Still, City have not lost to Fulham since 2008, when Diomansy Kamara scored a 90th-minute winner in a 3-2 triumph at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola, though, will not be taking anything for granted against managerial counterpart Marco Silva.
“Every season is better,” Guardiola said of Fulham in his pre-match press conference.
“The movements they do…they are really good. The patterns and the quality they have, the composure of the play, the speed they have.
“Marco is one of the top, top, top managers I face. [It’s his] destiny to be one of the top in a few years for sure.”
Fulham have lost three of their last four games and come into this one on the back of successive defeats to Manchester United and Everton.
Yet Silva does not believe another defeat as being set in stone despite Fulham’s dreadful record against City.
“It’s very bad,” our Head Coach admitted. “Not just Fulham, myself as well. It’s a bad record, definitely – the facts are there. But, every time you play, is another chance for you to change it, simple as that.
Manchester City v Fulham team news
Guardiola confirmed John Stones is set to return from a thigh injury that has kept him out since December 2. Abdukodir Khusanov is also fit after being withdrawn against Liverpool as a concussion substitute.
Jeremy Doku (calf), Mateo Kovacic (ankle), Savinho (knock) and Josko Gvardiol (shin) are all unavailable for City.
Sasa Lukic is out for Fulham with a thigh problem, and Tom Cairney remains out because of a calf injury.
Manchester City v Fulham predicted line-ups
Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Cherki; Semenyo, Haaland
Fulham: Leno; Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson; Iwobi, Berge; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze; Jimenez
How to watch Manchester City v Fulham
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 19:30 GMT (14:30 ET / 11:30 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 4 and the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through Discovery Plus, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Stats for Manchester City v Fulham
- City have won their last 19 meetings with Fulham in all competitions, the longest winning run one side has had against another in English football history.
- In addition, City have won their last 16 Premier League games with the Cottagers, which is also the longest run one team has had against an opponent in English league history.
- Fulham have lost their last eight away league games against City by an aggregate score of 25-4.
- City have not lost any of their last 55 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League home games (W47 D8) since a 1-0 loss to Tottenham in May 2010.
- Guardiola’s men have picked up 44 points from a possible 51 in their last 17 home Premier League matches (W14 D2 L1) and are unbeaten in their last 11 at the Etihad (W9 D2), with only Sunderland (12) on a longer home unbeaten run.
- Fulham have won three of 44 away Premier League matches against sides starting the day in the top three of the league (D9 L32), beating Manchester United in October 2003, Tottenham in March 2013 and Chelsea in December 2024.