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Match Preview
Fulham vrs Burnley
Premiership Match Day 31 25/26 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 21st March 2026 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire)
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Fulham, still harbouring aspirations of qualifying for Europe, welcome relegation-threatened Burnley to Craven Cottage for a Premier League clash on Saturday afternoon.
Marco Silva’s side will endeavour to complete their first league double over the Clarets since 1950-51 after securing a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor in December.
After finishing 11th in the Premier League table last season, Fulham find themselves in the exact same position after 30 games this term, with 41 points notched up after recording 12 wins, a division-low five draws, and 13 defeats.
The Cottagers are looking to end a three-match winless run in all competitions. After back-to-back 1-0 home defeats to West Ham and Southampton (FA Cup), they played out a goalless stalemate with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last weekend, registering just one shot on target from six attempts.
Fulham have recently lost their clinical in front of goal and Marco Silva’s side last went three Premier League matches without a goal in December 2023, a run which included a 2-0 home defeat to this weekend’s opponents Burnley.
The West London club should take comfort from having lost only one of their last 14 Premier League encounters with promoted sides (W8 D5), suffering a 1-0 defeat at Leeds in January, while they have accumulated just over 63% of their top-flight points at Craven Cottage this season (26/41).
However, Fulham have only won one of their last five home meetings with Burnley in all competitions, losing each of their last three by an aggregate score of 7-0 since their 4-2 Premier League victory in August 2018.
Since claiming an important 3-2 Premier League victory at Crystal Palace in mid-February, Burnley have failed to win any of their last five matches in all competitions, exiting the FA Cup fifth round to third-tier side Mansfield before recording two draws and two defeats in the top flight.
The Clarets can take positives from holding top-10 sides Chelsea and Bournemouth to draws, playing out a goalless stalemate with the Cherries at Turf Moor last weekend, but Scott Parker’s side are desperate for victories in their quest to pull off the great escape.
With just eight games remaining, Burnley remain 19th in the Premier League and sit eight points adrift of safety. Four of the Clarets’ next five fixtures are against teams currently in the bottom half of the table and failure to capitalise on this run could seal their fate.
A run of three away wins in their last four league visits to Fulham bodes well ahead of Saturday’s contest, while four of their 10 points collected across the last 21 Premier League games have come away against London clubs (three at Palace, one at Chelsea).
Burnley’s defensive record on the road leaves a lot to be desired, though, as they have kept only one clean sheet in their last 41 Premier League away matches, conceding in each of their last 25 since the aforementioned 2-0 victory at Fulham over two years ago.
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Following their 3-2 win in December, Fulham are looking to complete the league double over Burnley for the first time since 1950-51.
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Burnley have won three of their last four away league games against Fulham (L1), winning their last two visits by the same 2-0 scoreline.
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Fulham have the oldest average starting XI age in the Premier League this season (28y 236d), while Burnley rank fourth for this (27y 181d). Despite it being the fourth oldest this season, it’s the Clarets’ second youngest across a full Premier League campaign (24y 248d in 2023-24 the youngest).
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Fulham have lost just one of their last 14 Premier League games against promoted sides (W8 D5), going down 1-0 at Leeds in January.
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Fulham have lost 1-0 against West Ham and drawn 0-0 with Nottingham Forest in their last two Premier League games. They last went three without a goal in December 2023, a run which included a 2-0 home defeat to Burnley.
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Harry Wilson is Fulham’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals. He could be just the second British player to reach double figures for the Cottagers in a single campaign, after Andrew Cole in 2004-05 (12).
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Harry Wilson has been involved in 15 Premier League goals for Fulham this season (9 goals, 6 assists). The last Welsh player with more in a single campaign was Aaron Ramsey in 2013-14 (18).
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Burnley have won just one of their last 21 Premier League games (D7 L13), though four of their 10 points in this run have come away against London sides (3-2 vs Crystal Palace, 1-1 vs Chelsea).
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Burnley have kept just one clean sheet in their last 41 Premier League away games, conceding in each of their last 25 since a 2-0 win at Fulham in December 2023.
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Of all opponents he’s faced 10+ times in the Premier League, Burnley’s Kyle Walker has a higher win rate against Fulham than any other side (90% - 9/10). His first ever goal in the competition also came against the Cottagers, back in February 2011 with Aston Villa.
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBCSports