Fulham host Sunderland in a huge match affecting both ends of the Premier League table.
Victory will lift Fulham up one position into 14th in the table, whilst fourth-placed Sunderland could climb to third with a win if Chelsea fail to beat Burnley in the lunchtime kick-off.
Team News
Rodrigo Muniz is ruled out for Fulham after he suffered a hamstring injury in their 2-0 loss at Everton before the international break.
Antonee Robinson (knee) and Sasa Lukic (suspension) are too sidelined.
Sunderland will have Reinildo available despite the defender having suffered a slight knock whilst on international duty with Mozambique.
Habib Diarra (groin), Aji Alese (shoulder), Leo Hjelde (Achilles), Romaine Mundle (hamstring) and Dennis Cirkin (wrist) are still sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Fulham host Sunderland at Craven Cottage on Saturday 22 November at 3pm GMT, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Fulham have won just one of their last four Premier League meetings against Sunderland (W1, D1, L2).
- Sunderland have claimed seven points in their last five top-flight trips to Fulham (W2, D1, L2).
- Fulham have conceded first in each of their last two top-flight home matches against Sunderland (L2).
- Fulham have won just one of their last six league matches (W1, L5).
- Sunderland have claimed four points from two trips to London-based opposition this season (W1, D1).
Prediction
With one win in their last six league matches on top of Muniz’s injury blow and uncertainty over Marco Silva’s future beyond this season, Fulham really need to find a way to stop their rut because they are in a fight to stay up with little sign of potential improvement defensively.
In fact their defeat at Everton summed up the sense of limbo about the team because they lacked much attacking edge and were just poor defensively, so there are tough questions to start answering and especially from Harry Wilson after his displays for Wales in the break.
Sunderland meanwhile are one resilient team because few gave them a chance against Arsenal yet they took the lead and crucially stayed composed after the Gunners’ comeback, which eventually allowed them to snatch a deserved draw and I think that they will believe this is very winnable.
Although I expect improvement from Fulham, they really need to find some attacking spark otherwise Sunderland should get a comfortable result if they play like they did a fortnight ago.
Prediction: Fulham 1-2 Sunderland
Result: Fulham 1-0 Sunderland
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