MY ACCOUNT
– Man City have scored at least three times in all six home league games
– Fulham have conceded 11 in their last five away
– Recommended Bet: Back Man City to score over 3.5 goals
Manchester City can go back to the top of the Premier League if they extend a lengthy sequence of wins against Fulham when the two clubs meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side played leapfrog with Arsenal seven days ago by taking up leadership following their 1-0 away win at Leicester, only for the Gunners to reclaim the summit following their 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest 24 hours later.
Marco Silva’s Fulham will head to Manchester in good heart after extending their unbeaten run to four in a 0-0 draw with Everton that saw them tally 24 shots on goal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic was not at his clinical best on the day, but it remains to be seen if the Serbian will go toe-to-toe with the Premier League’s top scorer Erling Haaland in this one-sided fixture.
City have won each of their last dozen league and cup meetings with the Whites and Fulham will be desperate to ensure that it is 13th time unlucky for the champions.
Team news
Haaland missed City’s win at the King Power Stadium last weekend with an injury he sustained in the previous game against his former club Borussia Dortmund.
The Norwegian had yet to train with his teammates as of Tuesday but has been able to train individually, which could give him a chance of making the matchday squad.
Guardiola made seven changes in total from the win at Leicester when he sent his side out for a Champions Lague dead rubber against Sevilla on Wednesday.
Having been relegated to the bench recently, Phil Foden played the full 90 minutes and could get another chance in another rotated starting XI.
Julian Alvarez will be hoping to keep his place after delivering a goal and two assists in midweek while Guardiola later revealed he thought Jack Grealish was “the best player” in the first half, despite withdrawing the England international at half-time for a combination of tactical and fatigue reasons.
For Fulham, Neeskens Kebano is now facing a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a ruptured Achilles in training.
Silva restored both Kebano and centre-back Issa Diop to his line-up last weekend and looks likely to stick as close to that line-up as possible with Harry Wilson at the front of the queue to replace the stricken winger.
Diop has established himself as Silva’s preferred central defensive partner for skipper Tim Ream.
The only potential change to Fulham’s back four could come on the right where Kenny Tete’s greater experience there could give him the edge over Bobby Decordova-Reid.
The stats
City have scored 34 of their 37 Premier League goals this season during the 925 minutes that Haaland has been on the pitch at an average of one goal every 27.2 minutes.
The Citizens have scored just three goals in the 155 minutes without the Norwegian at an average of one every 51.7 minutes.
Rodrigo has played more passes than anyone else in the Premier League — his next will be his 1,000th of the season.
Fulham’s 24 shots against Everton last Saturday were their most in a single Premier League game without scoring (since 2003-04).
In that 0-0 draw, Mitrovic became the first player to hit 10 or more shots in a Premier League game and not score since Harry Kane (10) against Brighton in December 2017.
Prediction
Opposing City in any way is not advisable given Guardiola’s team have won 32 and lost only two of their last 40 games in the Premier League.
Fulham have done well this season, but it is a major step up to expect them to prevent the champions from taking another three points at home.
City have won their last 10 Premier League games at Etihad Stadium, scoring at least three times in every single victory and totalling an incredible 43 goals.
That — and the fact that Fulham have shipped eight goals in their last three away games — suggests the 6/5 odds with LiveScore Bet for City to score over 3.5 goals in the game are worth a second look.
