Match Preview
Manchester City vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 26 25/26 at Etihad Stadium
Wednesday 11th February 2026 KO: 19:30
Referee:
Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Live on TNT Sports 4
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Fulham head to Manchester City on Wednesday evening aiming to return to winning ways while Man City need a win to keep up with Arsenal in the race for the Premier League title.
Fulham are among a cluster of Premier League teams who are vying to secure European qualification heading into the final third of this season, but a run of three defeats in their last four games has set them back slightly in their pursuit of a top-seven finish.
The Cottagers beat Brighton 2-1 either side of one-goal defeats to Leeds (1-0) and Man United (3-2), before letting a one-goal lead slip with 15 minutes remaining to lose 2-1 at home to Everton last weekend, with an own goal from Bernd Leno condemning the West London side to their 11th defeat of the campaign.
Head coach Marco Silva lamented Fulham’s lack of ruthlessness in the final third and how they “stopped playing” against Everton in the second half after a dominant first 45. The Cottagers have subsequently slipped to 10th in the table and four points behind Brentford in seventh spot.
A swift return to winning ways could prove challenging for Fulham, who have won only three of their 44 Premier League away games against teams starting the day in the top three of the table (D9 L32), beating Man United in October 2003, Spurs in March 2013 and Chelsea in December 2024.
As a manager, Silva has lost all 13 of his top-flight battles against Man City, the most one manager has faced an opponent with a 100% loss rate, while Fulham have lost each of their last eight league visits to the blue side of Manchester by an aggregate score of 25-4. However, three of their four PL victories against the Citizens have come at the Etihad.
Man City were around 10 minutes away from crashing out of the Premier League title race and falling nine points behind leaders Arsenal, but Pep Guardiola’s men fought back like true champions do to claim an important 2-1 victory against Liverpool in dramatic fashion at a stadium where they had previously won just once in 10 games under their Catalan coach.
Bernardo Silva’s 84th-minute equaliser was followed by Erling Haaland’s 93rd-minute winner from the penalty spot, helping the Citizens reduce the gap at the summit to six points. City could close the gap to just three points with a win over Fulham before the Gunners travel to in-form Brentford on Thursday.
Guardiola and co will welcome a return to the Etihad where they have accumulated 44 points from a possible 51 available across their last 17 Premier League home games (W14 D2 L1) and are unbeaten in their last 11 in front of their own fans (W9 D2), with only Sunderland (12) enjoying a longer unbeaten home run.
Man City should be confident of success on Wednesday, as they have won each of their last 19 encounters against Fulham in all tournaments and have prevailed in all of their last 16 Premier League meetings with the Cottagers - both of these impressive winning runs are the longest one team has ever had against another in English football league history.
In addition, the Citizens love a midweek fixture at the Etihad, as they have not lost any of their last 55 Premier League home games played on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (W47 D8) since suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Tottenham in May 2010.
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Fulham have lost their last eight away league games against Man City by an aggregate score of 25-4, though three of their four Premier League victories against the Citizens have come at the Etihad Stadium.
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Manchester 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.
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Manchester City have won their last 16 Premier League meetings with Fulham, the longest winning run one side has had against another in English league history.
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Fulham have won three out of 44 away Premier League matches against sides starting the day in the top three of the league (D9 L32), beating Man Utd in October 2003, Spurs in March 2013 and Chelsea in December 2024.
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Fulham boss Marco Silva has lost all 13 of his Premier League games against Manchester City, the most one manager has faced an opponent with a 100% loss rate.
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Both Raúl Jiménez and Kevin scored in Fulham's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this month. The last Cottagers player to score away at both Man Utd and Man City in the same top-flight season was Pat O'Connell in 1962-63.
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Manchester City haven’t 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.
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Manchester City 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.
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Man City’s Erling Haaland has been involved in 10 goals in just seven appearances against Fulham in the Premier League (7 goals, 3 assists).
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Man City’s Antoine Semenyo has been involved in five goals in his last three Premier League appearances against Fulham (3 goals, 2 assists), having a hand in all of Bournemouth’s goals in their 3-1 win against the Cottagers earlier this season (2 goals, 1 assist).
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBCSports