Fulham vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Published at :December 29, 2023 at 12:49 PM

Modified at :December 29, 2023 at 12:49 PM

The Gunners slipped to second place even after attempting 30 shots against the Hammers

After two 5-0 victories over Nottingham Forest and West Ham, Fulham have suffered in their last three Premier League games. Firstly Marco Silva’s men fell 3-0 to Newcastle United after Raúl Jiménez’s early send-off. Although the defeat was related to being a man down too early, the same pattern followed in the next two games. A 2-0 defeat to Burnley at home and in the last game a 3-0 thumping defeat to AFC Bournemouth.

Arsenal on the other hand have slipped from the top of the Premier League table due to the last game result. After matchday 19, it is Liverpool who leads the standings with 42 points. The Gunners lost in the last league game against the Hammers to go behind 2 points to the Reds. Mikel Arteta though has defended his side that lost 2-0. Arteta said, “I congratulate West Ham and praise my players. That’s what I can tell you,” after the game that had a lot of attempts from the North London hosts.

Kick-Off:

Sunday, 31 December 2023 at 2:00 PM UK (7:30 PM IST)

Location: Craven Cottage

Form

Fulham (in all competitions): L-L-W-L-W

Arsenal (in all competitions): L-D-W-D-L

Players to Watch

João Palhinha (Fulham)

Fulham has a Portuguese midfielder that can trouble Mikel Arteta and Co. at Craven Cottage. In the summer, Bayern Munich were after the services of João Palhinha for a reason. The defensive-minded midfielder was reportedly worth £60 million then. The 28-year-old continues to be a key player for the Cottagers.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

In the West Ham game, Bukayo Saka was troubling opposition goalkeeper Alphonse Areola all night. The Arsenal winger attempted 9 shots over the game playing the full 90 minutes. So far in the English first-tier league, Saka has made 18 appearances scoring 5 goals and providing 7 assists.

Match Facts

Fulham have failed to win in any of their last 11 meetings against Arsenal
This English top-flight season, the Gunners have 7 clean sheets which is the current highest in the competition
In their last 3 PL games, the hosts have scored 0 goals while conceding 8 goals in total

Injury & Team News

Marco Silva will have to do without – Tyrese Francois and goalkeeper Steven-Andreas Benda against Arsenal. The likes of Willian, Tim Ream and Adama Traoré will be assessed before the game.

Mikel Arteta’s side will be lacking the services of Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Arteta has mentioned that Partey still hasn’t returned to team training. Previously there were false reports that the defensive midfielder was back on the training ground.

Head to Head

Total Matches – 15

Fulham wins – 1

Arsenal wins – 9

Draws – 5

Predicted Lineup

Fulham predicted lineup (4-2-3-1):

Leno (GK); Tete, Adarabioyo, Bassey, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz

Arsenal predicted lineup (4-3-3):

Raya (GK); White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Ødegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Match Prediction for Fulham vs Arsenal

The last game didn’t pan out well for Arsenal. They ended up losing 2-0 to West Ham even after attempting 30 shots which Mikel Arteta even mentioned in his post-match conference. In this game, the Gunners should see out a win given Fulham have been firing blanks from the last three league games.

Prediction: Fulham 0-2 Arsenal

Telecast for Fulham vs Arsenal

India – Star Sports, Disney+ Hotstar

UK – Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Amazon Prime Video

US – NBC, USA Network, Peacock

Nigeria – SuperSport, NTA, Canal+ Afrique

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