Manchester City FC vs Fulham FC, English Premier League 2024-25, Today Match Prediction

Manchester City FC vs Fulham FC Match Prediction & Analysis

Back at Etihad, after a disappointing week away at St. James’ Park, Manchester City is all set to face Fulham, their rivals from West London, in the coming weekend at 7:30 p.m. IST.  The Citizens will be eying for full points in this clash, given they drew with Newcastle United last week. The game finished at 1-1, with Jisko Gvardiol scoring the only goal for the Citizens. On the contrary, Fulham are coming on the back of a win at City Ground in Nottingham, as they defeated the home side 1-0 thanks to Raul Jimenez’ spot kick. 

Current Standings: With 14 points (4 wins, 2 draws), Manchester City are currently placed 2nd in the league standings, while Fulham are placed sixth in the table with 11 points (3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss). 

Head-to-Head Record: Manchester City enjoys a dominant record over Fulham in head-to-head stats with a win-loss record of 19-4 with 9 draws. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Manchester City FC Preview

Matchweek six did not go as planned for Pep and his team, as the Citizens dropped points for the second time this season, thus finding themselves out of the top spot in the table for the first time as well. They were without Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, which had an adverse impact on their game. 

Rodri’s absence was felt.

The Spanish midfielder is arguably the best holding midfielder in the world. His absence was always going to impact the Citizens game, but not to the extent they thought it could be. Manchester City's pass completion rate in the game against the Magpies was 85.5%, their lowest this season. Their passes into the final third, 31, passes into the penalty area, 12, and 40 progressive passes were all at a low since the opening weekend match against Chelsea. Rodri led the way in all three metrics last season.

Stats That Matter 

Manchester City are ranked the best in ball possession with 65% averaging 19.2 shots per game. The Cityzens score an average of 2.33 goals per match with a shooting accuracy of 37%. Erling Braut Haland is the top scorer with 10 goals this season. Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have also scored 1 goal each in the 6 matches played this season. The team has an average of 2.3 saves per game, the fourth worst in the season. They have conceded an average of 1 goal per match.

Tactics and changes 

In the game against the Magpies, the Citizens could only muster an xG of 0.9, the lowest this season for them. Clearly, they lacked something, and it may prompt Pep to change his formation from 4-2-3-1 to a more attacking one of 3-2-4-1, with Savinho coming in place of either Walker or Lewis. 

Manchester City Probable Starting Lineup -  Ederson (GK); Gvardiol, Dias, Akanji (Defenders); Kovacic, Lewis/Walker, Silva, Grealish, Gundogan, Savinho (Midfielders);  Haaland (Forwards)

Fulham FC Preview

Marco Silva's team will be bursting with excitement and confidence heading into the game, unlike their opponents this weekend. The Cottagers had a poor start to the season, losing to Manchester United, but they have picked up pace since and are on a four-match unbeaten streak with two wins on the bounce. It means they are currently on 11 points, which is their joint-most ever in a Premier League season since 2003/04.

Emerged from Palhinha shadows

Joao Palhinha transfer to Bayern Munich in the summer was expected to have a significant impact, and it is understandable that his absence prompted some uncertainties in the initial couple of games. However, with an xGA of 6.58 after six games, the fifth best this season, it's safe to say they've progressed. The ultimate rearguard action of defending their one-goal lead against Nottingham was the most satisfying aspect of their victory last Saturday. Furthermore, they kept their first clean sheet of the season. Incidentally, this was their third clean sheet since March of this year. 

Stats That Matter

Fulham are ranked 10th in ball possession with 50.7% averaging 15.7 shots per game. The Cottagers score an average of 1.33 goals per match with a shooting accuracy of 32%. Raul Jimenez is the top scorer with 3 goals this season. Emile Smith Rowe has also scored 2 goals in the 6 matches played this season. The team has an average of 2.8 saves per game, the 12th best in the season. They have conceded an average of 0.83 goals per match.

Tactics and changes

The tactics against City will be simple: limit Citizens entry into the box, choke them of space, and more importantly, beat them in the counters. In terms of changes, none is expected, as Marco Silva is expected to line up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. 

Fulham Probable Starting Lineup -  Leno (Goalkeeper); Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson(Defenders); Pereira, Lukić, Smith-Rowe (Midfielders) ; Adama, Iwobi, Jimenez (Forwards) 

MANCHESTER CITY FC vs FULHAM FC
Winning Prediction

The match's drama will revolve around Fulham's ability to defend. They are the second-best in terms of xGA per game with 0.8. However, they face a team with an xG of 2.33 per game, the second-best in the league this season. Furthermore, City have not lost in 47 games at the Etihad Stadium. Still, the Cottagers will be hoping for at least a point in this encounter, given City have drawn their past two and are missing key players.

In the meantime, given the number of goals scored by the teams in the previous few games, we expect an xG of 3/3.5. Our conclusion: Despite missing important players, Manchester City is unlikely to go down at the Etihad.

Manchester City to Win (2-1)

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