Fulham welcome London rivals Arsenal to Craven Cottage in what promises to be an exhilarating encounter.
Fulham are cruising through the league, sitting 6th in the table and seeking European qualifications at the start of the season. Fulham hosted Brighton at home and ended up stealing all three points thanks to a magnificent brace from former Arsenal academy graduate Alex Iwobi and an own goal from O’Riley.
While several Fulham players have links to Arsenal due to their professional background, Gunners fans have admired Fulham’s performances for much of the season, but that admiration ends now.
Arsenal have been in great form of late with four consecutive wins in all competitions, having scored 15 goals. In the previous matchweek, Arsenal hosted rivals Manchester United at the Emirates and secured a 2-0 victory, thanks to set goals from Timber and Saliba.
Taking the mainstream media by storm, the Gunners were given synonyms like “Set Piece FC” at the weekend, which Arteta proudly accepted and declared: “We want to be kings of everything.”
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Will Arsenal’s terrific results be crucial in avenging Marco Silva’s Fulham who beat the Gunners on New Year’s Eve last season or will Fulham cause yet another upset for the Gunners?
Fulham vs Arsenal – When and where?
Date: Sunday December 7, 2024.
Time: 3:00 p.m. BST.
Location: Craven Cottage, London.
Fulham vs Arsenal — Match Officials
Referee: Chris Kavanagh.
Assistants: Darren Cann, Simon Long.
Fourth official: Andy Madley.
VAR: John Brooks.
Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton.
Fulham vs Arsenal – Team News
Reiss Nelson, on loan from Arsenal, will not be eligible to face his parent club and could remain sidelined after suffering a hamstring injury against Brighton. Harrison Reed and Joachim Andersen are also unavailable, although Marco Silva hopes Ryan Sessegnon will pass a late fitness test.
Arsenal had midweek headaches with the fitness issues linked to Gabriel and Calafiori – neither trained with the team on Friday but are expected to be retained. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are not in contention to make the roster as their respective injuries are being treated.
Pre-match tactical analysis
Fulham have a very talented team, led by an intelligent manager in Marco Silva. They play entertaining, attacking football with a structured setup in and out of possession.
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Fulham prefer to build from short passes from defense to attack, relying on the heroics of key players. Fulham have scored in each of their last 15 matches in all competitions, but are still looking for their first clean sheet at home.
What makes their setup effective in attacking other defenses is their combination play and effortless movement into different areas of the pitch. Fulham’s left side (Robinson, ESR and Iwobi) helps them get around presses with vision and creativity. To counter this, Arsenal must dominate this area.
Arsenal, on the other hand, adapted flexibly under Arteta to adapt to different playing scenarios. They scored through open play movements on the right side (Saka-Odegaard), overloads on the left side and their very effective corner schemes.
Complaints about predictable patterns and limited central progression have slowly been eliminated from the debate for the Gunners. Teams prefer to double/triple against their wide creators, which sees them short of options and passive in possession. Arteta failed to beat Fulham de Silva in either match last season, who also holds an impressive record in London derbies.
One route that can see the hosts dominate on the pitch and spook the Arsenal defense is to use their quick and seamless passing approach in a quick build-up. With tricky winger options in Traore/Iwobi/Wilson, some technicians to control the game like ESR/Pereira and finally, a duo of Muniz/Raul looking to get into attacks, Fulham could look to find answers against a informed Arsenal team.
Key players
Fulham Alex Iwobi v Arsenal
The former Arsenal academy starlet has a fantastic team on the other side of London. The Nigerian has been an underrated and reliable progressive midfielder, often slotting in on the wings and scoring some of his most crucial goals. After winning an excellent game against Brighton where he scored a brace, Arsenal’s defenders would need to vary their odd moves to pose a danger.
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Arsenal Bukayo Saka v Fulham
Arsenal’s star boy has started this season in splendid fashion, topping the assists charts with 10 assists already in the Premier League. Saka’s effortless ability to step in with his favored left foot and imagine a shot on goal always poses a threat. He could make the most of it by getting into the central areas and creating more from there, while also making some wicked turns. Can Saka keep Arsenal higher on the table after delivering another important away game?
Fulham vs Arsenal – Predicted Lineups
Fulham predicted the line-up against Arsenal: Leno; Head, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Bergé; Traoré, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz.
Arsenal predicted the line-up against Fulham: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.