Match Preview
Fulham vrs Manchester City
Premiership Match Day 33 22/23 at Craven Cottage
Sunday 30th April 2023 KO: 14:00
Referee:
Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Live on Sky Sport
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Fulham face Man City, fresh from crushing title rivals Arsenal, at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. Manchester City will resume their pursuit of a fifth Premier League crown in six seasons.
Marco Silva's men occupy 10th place in the Premier League table while Pep Guardiola's side find themselves two points behind the Gunners with two games in hand.
Despite suffering a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Tuesday, Fulham are now mathematically safe from relegation and can start planning for another season in the top flight.
Having experienced three promotions and two relegations across the past five years, Fulham gained a reputation as a yo-yo club, but they have adapted to the demands of the Premier League this time around.
In fact, the Cottagers looked set to challenge for European football when they returned from the World Cup break in blistering form, securing six wins in nine matches to climb as high as sixth in the table.
Although Fulham's performances have dipped since then – with five defeats coming in their previous seven outings – Silva's men will be hopeful of ending the campaign on a high note and cementing a top-half finish.
It is no surprise that Fulham's downturn in form has coincided with Aleksandar Mitrovic's eight-game ban for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh, as the key striker scored 11 goals in 21 league appearances before his suspension.
Manchester City's clash with Arsenal was billed as the title decider, but Guardiola's men turned the contest into an annihilation, humiliating their rivals with a dominant 4-1 victory in front of the Etihad faithful.
Kevin De Bruyne bagged a brace in the rout, while John Stones added to Arsenal's misery, and there was also time for Erling Braut Haaland to score in second-half stoppage time, netting his 33rd Premier League goal of the campaign to break the record for a 38-game season.
Man City have now won 12 of their last 13 games in all competitions, scoring a whopping 45 goals along the way, with the only draw in that sequence coming at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Better still, Manchester City carry a 17-match unbeaten streak into Sunday's clash, having notched 14 wins and three draws since their last loss.
With an FA Cup final on the horizon and a Champions League semi-final showdown with Real Madrid just around the corner, Guardiola's side will be eager to strengthen their treble hopes with another positive result this weekend.
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Fulham won 3-1 at the Etihad on 12 April 2009 but are winless in 15 subsequent league meetings (D3, L12).
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The Londoners have failed to keep a clean sheet in all 14 of their Premier League home games versus City.
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Manchester City have won their last 13 games against Fulham in all competitions.
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Marco Silva's side have lost five of their past seven Premier League games, one more defeat than in their previous 16 fixtures.
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Fulham have gone eight league matches without keeping a clean sheet, conceding 13 goals.
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They have lost all six of their league fixtures this term against sides currently in the top four, conceding 14 goals and scoring four.
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Victory would ensure Manchester City go top of the Premier League for the first time since 17 February.
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They have won their previous seven top-flight games, their best run since a 12-match streak between November 2021 and January 2022.
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Pep Guardiola has won two-thirds of his Premier League away fixtures against London sides (25 of 38), the highest win rate of any visiting manager to take charge of at least 10 such matches.
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All eight of Guardiola's top-flight losses in the capital have come against either Tottenham (five defeats) or Chelsea (three).
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Erling Haaland's haul of 33 Premier League goals is a record in a 38-game season and one shy of the highest ever total scored by Andrew Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-95) in 42-match campaigns.