Manchester City will be keen to bring a run of two successive Premier League draws to an end on Saturday when they host Fulham.

The Cityzens have dropped points to Arsenal and Newcastle United in their most recent league outings, with Rodri’s season-ending injury forcing uncomfortable questions regarding their significant reliance on the Euro 2024 winner. Pep Guardiola’s side tend to be strong finishers rather than fast starters, but they can ill-afford any more slip-ups in the coming weeks.

Of course, their 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League midweek has offered some respite from a difficult period – by Man City’s standards anyway – especially considering the returning Phil Foden grabbed a well-taken goal in an impressive display.

Fulham will prove challenging opposition for the reigning champions, however, with the west London outfit having won three of their opening six games. Just one defeat sees them residing in sixth heading to the Etihad Stadium and a settled starting XI may be able to unnerve a City side fatigued from their trip to Slovakia.

Here is 90min’s guide to Man City’s clash with Fulham this weekend.

Man City vs Fulham H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Naturally, Rodri is the big miss for Man City on Saturday and will be for the rest of the season, but the Cityzens also find themselves without Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake.

Kevin De Bruyne has missed recent matches with a groin injury sustained against Inter in mid-September and is likely to return after the October international break. The Belgian has made himself unavailable for the next two international meet-ups as he aims to manage his workload.

Phil Foden’s impressive performance midweek puts him firmly in Guardiola’s thoughts ahead of the weekend, while Ilkay Gundogan also dazzled at the base of midfield. The likes of Ederson, Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker should return against Fulham having started on the bench on Tuesday.

Man City predicted lineup vs Fulham (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Silva, Foden, Grealish; Haaland.

Carlos Vinicius and Jorge Cuenca are the only players sidelined for Fulham’s trip this weekend and a near full-strength squad is exactly what they need to stand a chance against the Premier League champions.

Fortunately, they have a striker in impressive form, with Raul Jimenez having taken Rodrigo Muniz’s starting spot and scored four goals in his last six outings. The Mexico international will be joined by the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore – who has a good record against City – in the final third.

Fulham predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Pereira, Lukic; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez.

Man City will be eager to make a statement at the weekend after successive draws in the Premier League and the arrival of one of their favoured opponents may be exactly what they need.

The Citzyens have triumphed in their last 16 meetings with the Cottagers, winning last season’s battles 9-1 on aggregate. No matter Fulham’s form, it’s tough to look beyond their shocking record in this fixture.

In Haaland, Man City also have a man who rarely fails to score on home turf. The Norwegian drew his first blank of the league season last weekend and will be looking to make amends with one of his now customary hat-tricks at the Etihad.

Prediction: Man City 4-0 Fulham

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