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PREVIEW ~ Fulham welcome Leeds United ~ prem md31 ~ 22/23

last updated Friday 21st April 2023, 3:13 PM



Match Preview

Fulham versus Leeds United

Premiership Match Day 31 22/23 at Craven Cottage

Saturday 22nd April 2023     KO: 12:30

Referee: Peter Bankes (Lancashire)

Live on BT Sport


Fulham manager Marco Silva
Fulham manager
Marco Silva
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Marco Silva
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Leeds United manager Javi Gracia
Leeds United
manager
Javi Gracia
His Wiki page
Fulham will be looking to consolidate their place in the top 10 of the Premier League when they play host to Leeds United at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, are seeking to bounce back from successive heavy defeats as they bid to steer themselves away from the hotly-contested relegation battle.

Fulham ended a run of five successive defeats in all competitions, including four straight Premier League losses, when they secured a 3-1 top-flight victory away against Everton last weekend.

Harrison Reed's 22nd-minute opener was cancelled out by Dwight McNeil 10 minutes before the interval, but second-half strikes from Harry Wilson and Daniel James helped the Cottagers take away maximum points from Goodison Park.

Fulham's hopes of securing a European place for next season are slim as they currently sit 10th in the Premier League table and seven points behind seventh-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, who have a game in hand.

Nevertheless, Marco Silva's side are exceeding expectations this term and securing a top-10 spot would represent a respectable finish for last season's Championship title winners.

The Cottagers enter Saturday's encounter after losing their last two home matches without scoring against Arsenal and West Ham United, but they can be confident of success against Leeds having already beaten them twice this season, with a 3-2 top-flight win at Elland Road in October followed by a 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round success on home soil in February.

Silva and co will be looking to register their first league double over the West Yorkshire side since 1959-60, and a victory is also required if they wish to build positive momentum ahead of a tricky run of fixtures against in-form Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool.

Eight days after suffering a humbling 5-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, Leeds were dealt another disappointing blow in their quest to avoid the drop when they were thrashed 6-1 on home soil by Liverpool on Monday night.

Trailing 2-0 at half time, the Elland Road faithful were given hope when Luis Sinisterra pulled one back less than two minutes after the interval, but three goals within the space of 12 minutes put the Reds back in control before Darwin Nunez completed the rout with a sixth for the visitors in added time.

Leeds now have the worst defensive record in the Premier League so far this season having conceded a total of 60 goals from their 31 matches, shipping a third of their top-flight goals (20) across their last six matches.

The Whites remain embroiled in a relegation scrap as they currently sit 16th in the table, just two points above the bottom three, and Javi Gracia has urged his side to "improve as quick as possible" if they are to pull away from danger.

However, success on the road could prove challenging this weekend having only picked up nine of their 29 points this season away from home, while they have lost all five of their Premier League matches in London this term, conceding 16 goals in the process.

Head to Head
  • Fulham can complete the league double over Leeds United for the first time since 1960, when the Yorkshire side were relegated from the top flight.


  • Leeds could win consecutive league visits to Fulham for the first time since 1956 in the second tier.


  • Fulham have already beaten Leeds twice this season: 3-2 in the league and 2-0 in the FA Cup. As a top-flight side, the Cottagers have beaten a team three times in one season on three previous occasions - Blackburn in 1961-62, Charlton Athletic in 2002-03 and Norwich City in 2013-14.
Fulham
  • Fulham's win at Everton last weekend ended a run of five straight defeats in all competitions.


  • The victory at Goodison Park was just a third in nine league games without Aleksandar Mitrovic this season.


  • Fulham's points tally of 42 is their highest after 30 matches of a Premier League campaign. The club's record points total is 53 in 2008-09, a season in which they had 40 points after 30 games.


  • They are just two wins shy of equalling the club record of 14 victories in a Premier League season.


  • The Cottagers have lost their last two home league fixtures, as many as they had in their previous nine.


  • Their five home league defeats this season have either come in London derbies (versus Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham), or against top-four teams (Newcastle United and Manchester United).
Leeds United
  • Leeds United have won just twice in 15 Premier League away games this season.


  • They have conceded 16 goals in four league matches this month, conceding at least four goals in three of those fixtures.


  • The Whites already hold the record for most Premier League goals conceded in a calendar month, letting in 20 in February 2022.


  • Leeds have kept just one away clean sheet this season, the lowest tally of any top-flight team.


  • They have lost all five of their Premier League games in London this season, conceding 16 goals. The last time they lost five in a row in a single campaign in the capital was in 2020-21, a run which ended with a 2-1 win at Fulham.


  • Luis Sinisterra has scored twice in three matches, as many goals as in his opening 14 appearances for the club.




























Source Oliver Thomas at Sports Mole
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