Manchester City entertain Fulham at the Etihad Stadium in a big Premier League clash.
If Liverpool fail to win at lunchtime, victory would see Manchester City go back to the summit unless Arsenal also win and manage a better goal difference.
Fulham can climb to fourth with a win because Chelsea and Aston Villa don’t play until Sunday.
Team News
Man City have no fresh injury concerns to report following their midweek Champions League win at Slovan Bratislava.
Nathan Ake (thigh), Rodri (knee), Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) and Oscar Bobb (leg) remain absent.
Fulham will be without defender, Jorge Cuenca due to an ankle injury.
Carlos Vinicius (calf) remains ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Man City host Fulham at Etihad Stadium on Saturday 5 October at 3pm BST, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man City are unbeaten in their last 18 league meetings against Fulham (W15, D3).
- Fulham are winless in each of their last nine league visits to Man City (D2, L7).
- Ex City forward, Julian Alvarez scored in each of the Cityzens’ last four league meetings against Fulham (W4).
- No Man City player has been substituted more in their seven games so far this season than Savinho (4).
- Coming into this matchweek, nobody has produced more crosses this season than Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (51).
Prediction
After a scruffy draw at Newcastle last weekend, Man City definitely hit back with a dominant win at Bratislava so I expect them to come out and produce a similar display here given their home form over Fulham.
Marco Silva’s Cottagers though ended Newcastle and Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten league starts in their last two matches, and were especially clinical away to the latter where they showed composure and patience to nick the win.
The opportunity to therefore make it a hat-trick and end City’s unbeaten start is tasty, but I just think that Man City will have too much for Fulham as is usually the case in their meetings.
Prediction: Man City 3-1 Fulham
Result: Man City 3-2 Fulham