Fulham Manager Chris Coleman travels up to Manchester to take on City, with both teams looking to recover from disappointing results last weekend.

"They're a typical Kevin Keegan side - they play at a good tempo, they're a great passing side, create lots of chances and let the opposition have lots of chances as well. We're all expecting a very tough game."

Chris Coleman knows it will be tough task and like Keegan will be looking for his side to respond in the right way. Coleman cut a despondent figure after watching his side slip to a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last Saturday.

Despite the score-line, Fulham never really threatened to take something from the game after appearing devoid of a cutting edge upfront.

Coleman conceded that his charges had not deserved to take anything from the visit to their West London neighbours.

'We got what we deserved, nothing," declared the Fulham chief. It was a lacklustre display.

"In the second half we had one shot at goal and that was not on target. We paid them too much respect. They are a good team but they did not deserve the respect we showed them.'

Coleman will have his troops pumped up for the game, and with City looking to pull away from the bottom three Saturday promises to be an intriguing encounter.

Fulham captain Lee Clark is looking forward to meeting up again with Keegan on Saturday.

Clark, who played under Keegan at Newcastle, said: "Kevin is someone I hold in the highest regard. He is probably the best manager I've played for and I've played for some great managers in my time.

"I've got enormous respect for him. I think City are a good side, they've got good players and they've got a good manager in charge of them.

"They've been playing well without getting any luck. I watched them play against Leeds - they dominated the game from start to finish and lost, and that sounds the way a lot of their games have gone.

City's preparation has not been ideal with Kevin Keegan undergoing hospital treatment this week to alleviate an inflamed nerve in his back.

After battling through back pain for the past two months, the 53-year-old former England manager was forced to have a cortisone injection just hours after his team lost 2-1 to Leeds.

He missed most of this week's training but is expected to be back in the dug-out for Saturday's encounter with Fulham.

Keegan will be a frustrated patient given his team have again dropped to the brink of the relegation zone but long-time number two Arthur Cox will took charge of first-team affairs for the week.

The defeat on Monday, plunged them back into relegation contention following their 4-1 victory over local rivals Manchester United the previous week. They are 16th in the table, just three points above the relegation zone with nine games of the season remaining.

Regarding on the pitch matters Keegan will be hoping for change in fortunes, after another luckless Premiership performance at Elland Road.

King Kev had no doubts about whether the Blues deserved all three points or not after dominating the game against Leeds last night.

"It is like making a recording over and over again. We were the best team last night and we have lost again. We have done that a lot of times this year. I just think we have been unlucky. People might put that on my gravestone.

"I felt sorry for the lads, they deserved something. They played some good football and competed well with Leeds. The best team went away with nothing but that is football sometimes.'

City are likely to come out firing against Fulham as they look to put the Leeds defeat behind them. The Cottagers have proved all season they are up for the challenge and they will be quietly confident going into the game.
source: 4thegame

Mark Pembridge celebrates his goal against the Blue S
Come On You Fulham