Man City v Fulham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Man City host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League. The Cottagers have lost 14 matches in a row against City including the last nine away from home. Ominously for Marco Silva’s side, Erling Haaland is without a goal in three home league fixtures. Juanma Lillo will take charge of the hosts as Pep Guardiola recovers from surgery.

Man City Form

City have made a decent start to this season. They won 3-0 at Burnley to start the campaign and then lifted the UEFA Super Cup for the first time with a win on penalties vs. Sevilla after a 1-1 draw. A 1-0 home win over Newcastle followed as they allowed almost no clean chances. Last weekend, City went to Sheffield United and dominated the match.

City led 1-0 after 84 minutes but conceded an equaliser and needed Rodri to score a crucial winner. They had 80% ball possession, 30 shots, and 3.60 Expected Goals. At home, it’s 11 league wins in a row for Guardiola’s side with 30 goals scored and seven conceded.

Man City Team News

City remain without captain Kevin De Bruyne in midfield. John Stones will be missing for another couple of weeks and Manuel Akanji is a doubt due to illness. Cole Palmer has been sold to Chelsea this week.

Phil Foden is pushing for a recall to the XI with Julian Alvarez most at risk of dropping down to the bench. Jeremy Doku will hope for a debut from the bench after he arrives from Rennes. A £53m move for Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes is close to completion but this may come too soon for him to feature.

Man City Motivation

City dominated last weekend vs. Sheffield United but weren’t ruthless. Motivation will be very high to score a good number of goals in this match.

Erling Haaland will be keen to end a goal drought at the Etihad and the players will want to win for their absent coach ahead of the FIFA break.

Fulham Form

It’s been a mixed bag for Fulham this season in terms of performances and results. They somewhat burgled a 1-0 win at Everton on the opening day as they allowed 2.73 xG and 19 shots but Bernd Leno made several fine saves. A 3-0 home humbling by Brentford followed as they allowed an incredible 3.93 xG in a one-sided match.

At Arsenal, they again conceded loads of clear chances (19 shots, five ‘big chances’, and 3.20 xG) but they fought hard and equalised late from a corner with ten men to draw 2-2. In midweek, Marco Silva went with a very strong lineup and drew 1-1 at home with Tottenham in the Carabao Cup before winning on penalties.

Fulham Team News

Fulham have Calvin Bassey available again after suspension. He may need to settle for a place on the bench with Tim Ream fully fit again. Willian remains a doubt due to match fitness issues and he is not expected to start. Rumours are linking Alex Iwobi with a move to the club but this match will come too soon for him to play any part.

Joao Palhinha is being strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich. That could mean that he doesn’t feature in this match. Sasa Lukic and Harrison Reed could form the midfield two.

Fulham Motivation

This will be a very difficult game to get anything. A draw would feel like a victory but Fulham are not equipped to play ultra-defensively.

This will be an open game and should they be trailing by two goals at half-time, it may be a game where Fulham could concede several goals.

Key Stats

Man City won their last 9 home matches vs. Fulham (14 consecutive wins in total)

City have 11 home league matches in a row (30-7 aggregate)

City’s Haaland is goalless in 3 home league matches

Fulham have lost 5 of their last 9 away matches (EPL)

Fulham have conceded 27 goals in their last 9 matches at the Etihad

Fulham have allowed 9.86 xG in their 3 EPL matches

Verdict

This looks likely to be a big home win. Fulham are giving up loads of clear chances and they look weaker than last season after some key sales. Haaland will want to make up for his three-game drought at the Etihad and could be worth backing to score 2+ goals.

Best Bet: Man City win (-2 handicap) at 2.25

Alternative Bet: Haaland first goalscorer and Man City to score 2-4 goals in the match at 4.26

Goalscorer Tip: Haaland to score 2 or more goals at 2.25

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis