Match Preview
Fulham vrs Liverpool
Premier League Match Day 34 23_24 at Craven Cottage
Sunday 21st April 2024 KO: 16:30
Referee:
Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Live on Sky Sports
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Fulham are still aiming for a top half finish and on Sunday welcome a Liverpool resuming their quest for Premier League supremacy.
Marco Silva's men have had a week to dissect an eye-catching 2-0 triumph over West Ham United while The Reds' Europa League journey ended at the hands of Atalanta BC in midweek.
Had it not been for the efforts of a beleaguered Lukasz Fabianski, Fulham could and probably should have posted a more emphatic margin of victory against a West Ham side pre-occupied with Europa League thoughts, but Silva's troops were perfectly happy to declare at two.
Both of the Cottagers' strikes at the London Stadium came via the boot of Andreas Pereira, who firstly capitalised on a Dinos Mavropanos error to fire home into the roof of the net, before making an untracked run into the box and tapping in from Alex Iwobi's low cross in the second period.
By virtue of ending a three-game winless run in the top flight, Fulham are now assured of their Premier League status for 2024-25 and can enjoy a stress-free stroll to the finish line in 12th place in the rankings, just two points behind Brighton & Hove Albion in the top half having played a game more.
Success on the road last weekend was a collector's item for the Cottagers, though, as 28 of their 42 points in the current Premier League season have been won on home soil, and only the top six sides have performed better on their own patch than Silva's men in 2023-24.
Newcastle United may have come away from Craven Cottage with a 1-0 success to their name on April 6, but it has been 12 months since Fulham lost back-to-back Premier League matches on familiar territory, and fitness will be on their side against a drained and downcast Liverpool.
Winning the battle but losing the war, Liverpool's 1-0 success over Atalanta BC in the second leg of their Europa League final proved meaningless in the grand scheme of things, as La Dea comfortably advanced to the final four thanks to last week's exceptional 3-0 Anfield annihilation.
Mohamed Salah's early penalty offered hope of another astounding European turnaround for the men in red, but the Egyptian was then guilty of squandering a brilliant chance to reduce the aggregate arrears further, and Jurgen Klopp's men - akin to the manager's admission when he announced his exit - simply ran out of energy in the second half.
Encouragement ought to have been taken from the manner of Liverpool's first-half display in Bergamo, especially after last weekend's humbling 1-0 Premier League home defeat to Crystal Palace, where Eberechi Eze condemned the Reds to their first Anfield loss in the top flight for 18 months.
However, with leaders Manchester City in FA Cup action and Arsenal - who are only ahead on goal difference - facing a tricky away assignment of their own at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool could restore the smiles on their fans' faces at Craven Cottage, where victory may be enough to temporarily rise to the top.
Going seven halves of football without a goal from open play may cause some alarm within the Reds' ranks, though, and while Klopp's men prevailed over Fulham at Anfield in December's Premier League clash (4-3) and over two legs in the EFL Cup semi-finals (3-2), Silva's men gave them a brilliant run for their money.
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Liverpool are unbeaten in their past five Premier League games at Craven Cottage, winning three and drawing two.
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The Cottagers have triumphed only once in 13 previous meetings with the Reds in all competitions, drawing three and
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The reverse fixture finished 4-3 to Liverpool after an 88th-minute winner from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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Fulham have won just one of their previous four Premier League games, drawing one and losing two.
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The Cottagers have won nine of their 16 Premier League home fixtures this term, their best top-flight return at the Cottage since 2011-12, when they won 10.
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However, Marco Silva's side could lose back-to-back home league matches for the first time this season.
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They have conceded just 13 goals in their last 15 Premier League games at Craven Cottage, keeping six clean sheets.
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Rodrigo Muniz has gone three games without a goal in April after scoring eight times in eight Premier League matches between February and March.
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Liverpool have won five of their previous seven away games in all competitions, drawing one and losing the other.
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However, Jurgen Klopp's side have won only six of their past 18 Premier League matches in London, drawing seven and losing five.
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The Reds have scored in 19 consecutive top-flight away fixtures, the second longest run in their league history after a 21-match streak in the second tier between February 1955 and February 1956.
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The clean sheet against Atalanta on Thursday was their first in 10 matches.
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Mohamed Salah is aiming to score in three successive Premier League away games for the first time since a run of five from August to October 2021.
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Source Ben Knapton at SportsMole/BBCSports