Man City vs Fulham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

City have won just two of their last seven EPL fixtures and sit six points off the summit. Fulham have lost 19 straight matches vs City.

Man City Form

City have won five of their last 12 matches. In the league, it’s ten points from the last ten rounds of action. After a poor 2-0 loss away at Man Utd, they lost 3-2 away to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League. They bounced back to beat Wolves 2-0.

A 2-0 home win over Galatasaray sealed a top-eight finish in the Champions League, but more dropped points followed in the league. They gave up a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Tottenham, before reaching the Carabao Cup final with a 3-1 home win over Newcastle. On Sunday, a dramatic 2-1 win at Anfield kept them within six points of Arsenal in the title race.  

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola remains without John Stones and Josko Gvardiol in defence, whilst Abdukodir Khusanov is set to miss out due to concussion.

Jeremy Doku and Savinho are out injured, as is midfielder Mateo Kovacic. Rayan Cherki is expected to return to the starting XI.

Man City Motivation

This is a must-win match. City need to string together a run of wins to ensure the gap to Arsenal does not increase.

Pep Guardiola is set to play a more proactive game here. They will look to totally dominate Fulham and win by a good margin.

Fulham Form

Fulham had a superb run of league form with seven wins in 12 matches. They rescued a point in a 2-2 home draw vs Liverpool with a last-minute goal, before beating ten-man Chelsea 2-1 at home. A 3-1 home FA Cup win over Middlesbrough continued their momentum.

In typical Fulham fashion, they’ve followed that superb run with a streak of three defeats in the last four. They were beaten 1-0 at Leeds before a 2-1 home win over Brighton. A 94th-minute goal conceded saw a 3-2 defeat away at Man Utd. Their last match saw a lead surrendered in a 2-1 home loss to Everton as they allowed 16 shots.

Fulham Team News

Marco Silva is set to be without two midfield options for this match. Sasa Lukic and Tom Cairney are ruled out for this match.

Fulham have a clean bill of health otherwise. Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson and Oscar Bobb are all pushing for starts if the coach freshens up the team.

Fulham Motivation

Fulham play an open game, and will do the same against City. They will play to win the game, but may settle for a point in the second half.

The Cottagers have lost 19 straight matches vs City, so belief may not be there. This is a free hit.

Key Stats

• Man City’s last 7 league matches have seen just 2 wins (4 draws)
• Manchester City have scored 2+ goals in their last 20 matches against Fulham (all competitions)
• City’s Rayan Cherki has scored 4 goals in his last 419 minutes on the pitch
• Fulham have lost 17 straight matches vs Man City (all competitions)
• Fulham have lost 3 of their last 4 matches

Verdict

City should have too much here and should win by more than one goal. Cherki is backed to continue his fine form.

Best Bet: Man City win (-1 goal handicap) at 1.90

Goalscorer Tip: Rayan Cherki to score anytime at 3.35