Fulham will make a trip to Manchester to play Premier League leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday hoping to cause an upset.
The Cottagers have had a busy but thrilling week. They scrapped through a 2-all draw at Emirates against Arsenal and eliminated Tottenham Hotspur from the Carabao Cup on penalties in midweek.
They will hope they can wrap up the eight days with a positive result against Man City, even though manager Marco Silva knows the task is going to be tougher than most.
“When you have a week with Arsenal, Tottenham in the middle, and after you go to play against City, and these two Premier League games are both away from home, you know what that represents for us. But we want to go and embrace the challenge,” Silva told reporters in a pre-match press conference.
He added: “It will be tough against a team who have been commanding the last few seasons, the best team in the Premier League, and of course it will be a tough one for us.
“The way they started the season, even in tough games, the way they have been winning, even some games where they don’t perform at their best level, they have been getting results.”
The task is really tough for Fulham! They have not won a match against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium since 2009, with the Citizens winning the last nine matches of this fixture.
The league leaders will be without manager Pep Guardiola who underwent a back surgery and is in Spain recuperating until the end of the international break.
This means that assistant manager Jaunma Lillo will be in the dugout, but of course in constant communication with Guardiola.
During the pre-match press conference, Lillo said that Guadiola’s absence has not affected the club’s preparation for this fixture, and the entire Club are looking forward to his return.
“I speak regularly with him. Not just footballing terms, he’s much better. Things are taking place the way they should. All of us are delighted. We are really looking forward to him being back. Can’t wait. [Our preparation is] the same as before.” Lillo said.
Team news
Phil Foden has completely recovered from illness and the same is true for Manuel Akanji so the pair are available for selection. Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones are still sidelined due to respective hamstring and muscle injuries.
For Fulham, defender Calvin Bassey is available for selection after serving a one-match ban in midweek for a red card he received against Arsenal last weekend. Willian and Sasa Lukic are not yet ready to return.
