Match Preview
Fulham v Bournemouth
Premiership Match Day 19 24/25 at Craven Cottage
Sunday 29th December 2024 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Robert Jones (Wirral)
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Fulham welcome Bournemouth to Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon with both teams enjoying excellent campaigns.
Fulham are currently eighth in the Premier League table, just six points behind fourth-placed Nottingham Forest, while Bournemouth occupy sixth spot, with the Cherries picking up 29 points from their opening 18 matches of the campaign.
Fulham came from behind to record a huge victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day, with Harry Wilson levelling the scores in the 82nd minute before Rodrigo Muniz netted a 95th-minute winner for Marco Silva's side.
The capital outfit are now unbeaten in their last six Premier League matches, while they have only lost once once in England's top flight since the middle of October, with their excellent form leaving them ion eighth spot in the table.
Fulham are just six points behind fourth-placed Nottingham Forest, boasting a record of seven wins, seven draws and four defeats from 18 matches, while they have found the back of the net on 26 occasions.
Silva's team have picked up 15 points from their nine home league games this term, suffering only two defeats in the process, while their recent unbeaten run includes draws against Arsenal and Liverpool.
Fulham have only won one of their last six matches against Bournemouth in all competitions, though, which proved to be a 3-1 success when the two teams last locked horns at Craven Cottage in February 2024.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, with the Cherries failing to build on their 3-0 success over Manchester United at Old Trafford on December 22.
Andoni Iraola's side will bring a six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League into this match, which includes four wins, and they are currently up in sixth spot in the table, boasting 29 points from 18 matches.
The Cherries are only five points behind fourth-placed Nottingham Forest and very much in the mix for a top-four spot at this stage of proceedings, with head coach Iraola deserving huge credit for his work at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth have been impressive on their travels this term, picking up 14 points from nine matches, recording four wins in the process, and they will be looking to put down a marker with a victory over a strong Fulham outfit this weekend.
The Cherries were last victorious at Craven Cottage back in October 2018, recording a 3-0 victory in the Premier League, while they lead the overall head-to-head record between the two teams, boasting 15 wins to Fulham's 12.
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Fulham are vying for consecutive league victories against Bournemouth for the first time since 1932.
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The Cherries lost 3-1 at Craven Cottage in February, ending an unbeaten run of eight league games away to the Whites.
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Fulham's tally of 28 points equals their highest return after 18 Premier League matches.
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The Whites are unbeaten in six top-flight fixtures for the first time under Marco Silva. They have not had a longer undefeated streak in the Premier League since a run of seven games in 2010.
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The Cottagers have scored a league-high nine goals via substitutes in 2024-25, one more than opponents Bournemouth.
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They have also scored an unrivalled 38% of their Premier League goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, 1% ahead of Bournemouth.
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Fulham have won their final league game in each of the past two calendar years, beating Southampton 2-1 in 2022 and Arsenal by the same score in 2023.
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Harry Wilson has scored four Premier League goals as a substitute for Fulham this season, one shy of an outright record for the club in a single campaign.
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Raul Jimenez has 52 Premier League goals, one short of the record for a Mexican, set by Javier Hernandez.
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Andoni Iraola's side are unbeaten in six Premier League matches (W4, D2), one away from the club record set in 2017-18 and equalled last season.
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Bournemouth are vying to win four consecutive top-flight away fixtures for the second time in their history. They did so in November and December last year.
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The Cherries' haul of 29 points is their highest after 18 games of a Premier League season.
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Bournemouth's tally of 21 goals conceded is their lowest at this stage of a top-flight campaign, while their figure of 27 goals scored is a joint high.
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They have lost each of their past four league games in London and have not won a top-flight fixture in the capital since beating Crystal Palace 2-0 on 6 December last year.
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Source Matt Law at SportsMole/BBCSports