Match Preview
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Premier League Match Day 35 2324 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 27th April 2024 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
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A mid-table Premier League contest takes centre stage at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon as 13th-placed Fulham play host to 14th-placed Crystal Palace.
The two London clubs meet for the first time since September last year when they played out a goalless stalemate at Selhurst Park.
Although Fulham have never looked like entering the relegation picture this season, a run of three defeats in their last four Premier League matches leaves little to be desired, and Marco Silva's side are now playing catch-up in their quest to secure a second successive top-half finish.
Defeats against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United were followed by a 2-0 victory at West Ham United, but the Cottagers were condemned to their 16th league loss of the campaign at the hands of Liverpool (1-3) last weekend.
Fulham remain in with a shot of matching their 52-point haul from last season, although they require 10 points from their remaining four fixtures to achieve that. The Cottagers sit 13th in the table and only three points behind Bournemouth in 10th, while they are eight points adrift of the top seven, so a late push for Europe will be a tall order.
A return to Craven Cottage on Saturday will be welcomed by Fulham as they have collected 66.7% of their Premier League points on home soil this season, although they have lost their two matches in front of their own fans and will be seeking to avoid three home losses in a row for the first time since a run of six in May 2021.
Fulham will fancy their chances of claiming a positive result against Crystal Palace, whom they have not lost against in any of their previous four league meetings, while Silva's side have won four of their last five London derbies in the top flight, as many as their previous 44 beforehand.
In contrast to Fulham, Crystal Palace are in buoyant mood as they have won each of their last three Premier League games by an aggregate score of 8-2, with their latest success over Newcastle United securing their Premier League status for a club-record 12th successive season.
Three days after thumping West Ham United 5-2 at Selhurst Park, the Eagles returned to home soil and claimed a 2-0 victory over the Magpies on Wednesday, with Jean-Philippe Mateta following up his brace against the Hammers with two more goals to increase his tally for the campaign to 11 in the Premier League.
Oliver Glasner has settled in well as Crystal Palace boss since taking the reins in February and has successfully steered the club to safety with four games left to spare; the Eagles sit 14th in the table and 14 points above the drop zone, while victory on Saturday would move them level on points with Fulham in 13th.
Palace ended a 10-game winless away run when they surprisingly beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in their most recent match on the road, and they can travel to Fulham with optimism of success on Saturday as they are unbeaten in their last four visits to Craven Cottage (W2 D2).
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Having won two of their first three Premier League games against Crystal Palace, Fulham have won just one of their past eight against the Eagles. Despite this, they are currently unbeaten in four against their fellow Londoners.
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Fulham have won just one of the past eight meetings, although half of them have ended in draws.
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Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last four visits to Craven Cottage (W2, D2).
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Fulham have equalled last season's final tally of 16 league defeats, seven of which have come at Craven Cottage.
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The Cottagers have won four of their past five London derbies in the top flight; a fifth win would match their most in a season.
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Marco Silva's side have suffered back-to-back Premier League home defeats. They last lost more home games in a row between March and May 2021.
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Joao Palhinha has received a league-high 13 yellow cards this season. Having received 14 last season, he's the second player in history to be booked as many times in two Premier League campaigns - Robbie Savage was the first, 20 years ago.
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Andreas Pereira has created 80 chances for his team-mates in the league this season, the most on record for a Fulham player in a campaign (since 2003-04). He also has seven assists, with Simon Davies the last Fulham player to get more in a Premier League season (eight in 2007-08).
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Crystal Palace have registered three successive Premier League wins for the first time in a year. They'd only won three of their previous 20 top-flight games.
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Their 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield ended a 10-match winless away run in the league.
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Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored eight league goals since Oliver Glasner was appointed manager in February, second only to Cole Palmer's tally of 10 for Chelsea.
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Michael Olise has scored in his last three Premier League London derby appearances, with four goals in total, making him the first Palace player to score in four such games since Andrew Johnson in 2004-05.
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBC Sports