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The seventh round of league matches in the Premier League this weekend will be headlined by some major games.
October 4, 2024
By: Davis Rothman
This weekend, the seventh round of games between the Premier League teams are to play, as one of the most in-form teams in Fulham, travel north to take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Oct 4.
For the current champions Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, there are almost changes to the player availability from their 1-1 draw away at Newcastle last weekend, and in their 4-0 win away against ŠK Slovan Bratislava in their fixture in the UEFA Champions League that happened midweek.
Except for one player:
Phil Foden. The Englishman made his first season start for City in that midweek game in the Champions League. Guardiola, who has faced Fulham 11 times in all competitions, has won every one of those matches, as the last time these two sides met was at Craven Cottage (Fulham’s home stadium) back in May where City ran away 4-0 winners. Despite the potential of seeing some squad rotation occur within the starting team at the weekend, the changes are not expected to be too significant. Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Kevin De Bruyne, and Nathan Ake remain unfit for the defending champions, as their fitness statuses have not changed for none of them were able to take part in City’s midweek fixture in the Champions League.
As for the players to keep an eye out for, despite not getting on the scoresheet against Newcastle, if there's anyone that has the potential to make a statement, it’s Erling Haaland. He found the net in their midweek fixture, and there’s always a great possibility that he can score again this weekend with his insatiable appetite for goals. Foden, who also scored midweek on his return to the starting team, will be another player to watch to see if he gets the start again or if the manager will play someone else in the wide attacking role (whether that be Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, or Jack Grealish.) The starting midfield partnership will be another area of the pitch to keep an eye out for, as Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic played behind Ilkay Gundogan, who took on a more advanced and attacking midfield role in the team. But having played a deeper role in the midfield midweek and Foden playing in that advanced midfield role instead of him, it will be something to keep an eye out for in preparation for the match.
For Fulham manager Marco Silva, his record against Manchester City is zero wins in eleven attempts across all competitions against the four-time consecutive Premier League champions. Looking ahead to the match on Saturday, apart from injuries to Jorge Cuenca and Carlos Vinicius, they will maintain a fully fit squad and are likely to field a similar or an identical team to the side that started in their 1-0 win away at Nottingham Forest last week.
As for the players to keep an eye on, forward Raúl Jiménez who is on a current “purple patch,” which means to be in a hot streak of good form, has been scoring goals more consistently and has resurrected this season. And the form and performances have been so positively notable that Silva ultimately dropped first-choice forward Rodrigo Muniz to the bench. For a player who for several seasons had seemingly lost his way after a severe head injury against Arsenal a few years ago, it seems as if he has been reborn this season, playing alongside winger Adama Traore, where the duo had a notably prolific time during their spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers together back in the 2019/2020 Premier League campaign.
Left-back Antonee "Jedi" Robinson, has been a player who has been fundamental to their success this season. Both defensively and offensively, as his overlapping runs forward and crossing into the opposition box have been vital to many of the goals Fulham have scored this season. New signing Emile-Smith Rowe has been another player that has seemingly been revitalized at the West London club this season under Silva. In contrast in the last couple of seasons he had at Arsenal, he has a free role in the advanced midfield role, where he has the freedom to be the main facilitator of creativity, chance creation, and attacking spark for the team in both goals and assists.
Going into the match, Manchester City currently sit in second place, just one point off of first-placed Liverpool, who took City’s place that they held at the top of the table before their 1-1 draw against Newcastle last weekend that saw them drop two points. They will be looking to return to winning ways, at home in front of the Manchester City faithful, in hopes of reclaiming their spot at the top again and putting the pressure on Liverpool to get three points in their match against Crystal Palace.
As for Fulham, they currently find themselves in sixth place and level with Newcastle on points (11), but remain ahead of them due to goal difference. Only sitting two points behind Aston Villa in fifth, they will look to get a result in a formidable test for the Cottagers to keep a certain level of pressure on them to win their match at the weekend against Manchester United. But also, they will want to win to keep themselves ahead of Newcastle and put pressure on them to maintain the gap between the two clubs.
But what will happen in this face-off of these two Premier League sides? Will Manchester City return to winning ways at home in front of their beloved supporters? Or will Fulham produce a shocking and completely unexpected result, in the form of an incredible upset against the current champions and send a message of what they could be capable of this season?
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