Fulham host London rivals Arsenal at Craven Cottage in what promises to be an exhilarating encounter.
Fulham have been cruising in the league, sitting 6th on the table and looking for European qualifications early in the season. Fulham hosted Brighton at home and ended up stealing all three points thanks to a wonderful brace by former Arsenal academy graduate Alex Iwobi and an own goal from O’Riley.
With several Fulham players having ties to Arsenal due to their career paths, Gunners fans have admired Fulham’s performances for much of the season—but that admiration ends now.
Arsenal have been in great form lately—four straight wins in all competitions, having scored 15 goals in them. In the previous game week, Arsenal hosted rivals Manchester United at the Emirates and came out firing with a 2-0 win, thanks to set-piece goals from Timber and Saliba.
Taking mainstream media by storm, the Gunners have been given synonyms like “Set Piece FC” over the weekend, to which Arteta proudly agreed and said, “We want to be the kings of everything.”
Will Arsenal’s formidable results will 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 & Where?
Date: 7th December 2024, Sunday.
Time: 3:00 PM BST.
Venue: 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
Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson will be ineligible to face his parent club and could remain sidelined after a hamstring injury sustained against Brighton. Harrison Reed and Joachim Andersen are also unavailable, though Marco Silva will hope Ryan Sessegnon passes a late fitness test.
Arsenal had headaches midweek with the fitness issues related to Gabriel and Calafiori – neither trained with the team on Friday but are expected to make the cut. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are not in contention to make the lineup as their respective injuries are being addressed.
Pre Match Tactical Analysis
Fulham have a very talented squad, led by a smart coach in Marco Silva. They play an entertaining, attacking brand of football with a structured setup in possession and out of possession.
Fulham prefer to build up 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 in search of their first home clean sheet.
What makes their setup effective in attacking other defenses is their effortless combinational play and movement in different zones of the pitch. Fulham’s left-hand side (Robinson, ESR, and Iwobi) helps them bypass presses with vision and creativity. To counter this, Arsenal must dominate this zone.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have adapted flexibly under Arteta to suit different game scenarios. They’ve scored from open-play moves on the right-hand side (Saka-Odegaard), left-side overloads, and their highly effective corner patterns.
Complains of patterns being predictable, central progression being limited have been slowly put out of the debate for the Gunners. Teams prefer doubling/tripling up against their wide creators that sees them short for options and passive on possession. Arteta hadn’t managed to defeat Silva’s Fulham in both the fixtures last season, who also holds an impressive record in London Derbies.
A route that can see the hosts dominate through the pitch and go on to scare Arsenal’s defence is through their seamless quick passing approach through in quick build up. With tricky winger option in Traore/Iwobi/Wilson, some technicians to control the game like ESR/Pereira and lastly a duo of Muniz/Raul looking to pounce onto attacks, Fulham could look to find answers against an inform Arsenal side.
Key Players
Fulham Alex Iwobi vs Arsenal
The former Arsenal academy starlet has been having a fantastic side on the other side of London. The Nigerian has been an underrated and reliable ball-progressive midfielder, often tucking onto the wings and scoring some of their most crucial goals. Having coming off a great game vs Brighton where he scored a brace – the Arsenal defenders would need to be vary of hs uncanny movements to pose danger.
Arsenal Bukayo Saka vs Fulham
Arsenal’s starboy has started this season in splendid fashion, leading the assists charts with 10 assists in the Premier League already. Saka’s effortless ability to cut in with his favourite left foot and fancy a shot at goal always poses a threat. He could make the most of it by getting in the central areas and creating more from there, whilst also delivering nasty in swinging corners. Can Saka keep Arsenal higher up on the table after delivering in another important away fixture?
Fulham vs Arsenal – Predicted Lineups
Fulham predicted lineup vs Arsenal: Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Fulham: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
