Champions League
Conference League
Premier League
Published on Dec, 07 2024
Two of the Premier League's in-form sides face off Sunday as Arsenal travel to west London to face a Fulham side only three places behind them in the table. The Cottagers' 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday, a third in their last five matches, sent them rising up to sixth and they head into a tricky run of games in good form.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have won each of their last three league games and will have their eyes firmly set on Liverpool at the top of the table. Equally, this will be quite the opportunity for revenge; the five points Fulham cost Arsenal last season were the second most of any club in the top flight, a 2-1 defeat on New Year's Day one of just four top-flight defeats Mikel Arteta's side have suffered in 2024.
Fulham: Joachim Andersen and Harrison Reed are still out with injuries while Tom Cairney is serving the second of a three-game ban picked up against Tottenham. Reiss Nelson would have been ineligible to play against his parent club anyway but the hamstring injury he suffered against Brighton is expected to sideline him for next Saturday's meeting with Liverpool too. Given the tight turnaround from Thursday night expect Marco Silva to shuffle his pack in advanced areas, with Adama Traore primed to come in and Emile Smith Rowe vying with Andreas Pereira to play against his former club.
"It's not the best scenario," Silva said of the Thursday to Sunday schedule, "it's not going to be an excuse for us. Yes, Arsenal is going to be more rested by 24 hours than us. If I'm in the opposite side I'm going to say you have a small advantage in that situation because you are going to start the game less than 72 hours from the last night game but it is what it is."
Possible Fulham XI: Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge, Smith Rowe; Traore, Jimenez, Iwobi
Arsenal: Both Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori missed the win against Manchester United but Arteta hinted afterward that he could have gambled on the former's fitness if he felt compelled to. Both trained away from the first team on Friday with their manager saying: "Until we see tomorrow's training session it's very difficult to say something. Let's see how they evolve in the next few days."
Beyond those two and long-term absentees Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu it would appear to be a fit squad. Whether Arteta feels compelled to rotate with an eye on the visit of Monaco on Wednesday remains to be seen. Certainly, the Arsenal boss has shown more willingness to do that of late with 17 players getting at least 100 minutes across the last four games.
Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Havertz, Trossard
Prediction
Arsenal will feel they have a point to prove to Fulham. Expect them to do so. PICK: Fulham 0, Arsenal 2
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