A Sunday of London derbies in the Premier League kicks off at Craven Cottage as title contenders Arsenal travel to Fulham.
The Cottagers were partly responsible for the Gunners’ title failure last season as they took five points away from Mikel Arteta’s side. After drawing 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium, Fulham won the reverse fixture 2-1 on New Year’s Eve.
This is the first duel between the pair this season, with arsenal entering the device through the back of a 2-0 win over Manchester United in midweek. Arteta’s men have now won four games on the bounce in all competitions with their deficit to league leaders Liverpool at seven points after Wednesday’s results.
Fulham, however, present a difficult challenge.
Marco Silva’s Cottagers have moved up to sixth in the Premier League table after beating Brighton 3-1 on Thursday. Fulham have been unfazed despite losing crucial midfield cog Joao Palhinha in the summer, with their core of former Arsenal stars Alex Iwobi in particular impressing this term.
here it is 90 minutes preview of this Sunday’s Premier League shock
Fulham vs Arsenal H2H results (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Fulham |
arsenal |
|---|---|
|
Fulham 3-1 Brighton – 05/12/24 |
Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd – 12/04/24 |
|
Tottenham – Brighton 1-1 12/01/24 |
West Ham 2-5 Arsenal – 30/11/24 |
|
Fulham 1-4 Wolves – 23/11/24 |
Sporting CP 1-5 Arsenal – 26/11/24 |
|
Crystal Palace 0-2 Fulham – 09/11/24 |
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest – 23/11/24 |
|
Fulham 2-1 Brentford – 04/11/24 |
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal – 11/10/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD |
|
united states |
peacock |
|
canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 2 Canada |
Fulham are once again without Tom Cairney after he was sent off following VAR intervention at Tottenham last Sunday. The recently suspended Joachim Andersen was able to return to Silva’s team on Thursday night against Brighton but missed out with a calf injury. He is unlikely to return to the team on Sunday.
Reiss Nelson was forced off with a hamstring injury in midweek, but the winger would not have been able to face his parent club anyway. Emile Smith Rowe is available to face the Gunners, but Silva could opt for Andreas Pereira, whose exile was brief, this weekend.
Expected line-up for Fulham against Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez
The Gunners were without Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori for Wednesday’s win against Man Utd. The pair were not seen at the team’s training session on Friday but are said to be working individually to try and feature on Sunday.
If the pairing holds again, Arteta could once again turn to Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko in defence. Another option is to use Jurrien Timber at left back and Thomas Partey at right back.
Partey and Mikel Merino returned to the squad after missing last weekend’s beating of West Ham.
Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain on the sidelines.
Predicted Arsenal vs Fulham line-up (4-3-3): Stripe; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Timber; Rice, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
This Arsenal team remembers that. They were woeful at Craven Cottage last season and will be keen to put some things right on Sunday.
Arteta’s men are showing they can win by different means and while this well-balanced Fulham side with Arsenal roots should be able to enjoy periods of positive momentum on Sunday, it is hard to bet against the visitors in the west london
Whether it’s a touch of flair or mastery from set pieces, the Gunners are out to avenge last season’s defeat.
