Fresh from crushing title rivals Arsenal in midweek, Manchester City will resume their pursuit of a fifth Premier League crown in six seasons when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.
Thanks to Wednesday’s thrashing, Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves two points behind the Gunners with two games in hand, while Marco Silva’s men occupy 10th place in the Premier League table.
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 AleksandarMitrovic’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 ErlingHaaland 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.
Given that Man. City have kept just two clean sheets in their last 11 league outings, Fulham will be hopeful of scoring on Sunday, but Haaland and company should make light work of the Cottagers’ backline.- SportsMole
Today’s EPL fixtures:
Crystal Palace v West Ham
Brentford v Nottm Forest
Brighton v Wolves
SUNDAY:
Man.United v Aston Villa
Fulham v Man. City
Bournemouth v Leeds
Newcastle v Southampton
Liverpool v Tottenham
MONDAY:
Leicester v Everton
TUESDAY:
Arsenal v Chelsea
