Premier League: Sky Blues Plan a Raid on London

Fulham vs Manchester City

With just two weeks to go the Premier League climax is just around the corner, and this weekend the action starts when Manchester City take a trip to London to take on Fulham in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off.

The hosts are without a win in three and come into the game on the back of a goalless draw away to Brentford, while Manchester City spanked Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-1 to make it four victories on the bounce; and the Premier League 2024 betting odds are backing Pep Guardiola’s team to see the job through.  

At SBOTOP odds of 1.21 it seems hard to believe that City can slip up at the Cottage but Marco Silva’s men will give it a good go, that’s for sure. 

Talking Points

City are ticking them off

As every team which is chasing a title knows, once your destiny is in your own hands you tick off the games one by one; and that is exactly what Guardiola’s side can do now; and has been doing for some weeks. From the moment Arsenal and Liverpool faltered, the Gunners losing to Aston Villa on 14^th April, the Sky Blues have beaten Luton Town, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton, scoring 16 goals and conceding two.   

Manchester City’s win over Wolves was as clinical as you could get as Erling Braut Haaland scored four goals before being rested, and then substitute Julian Alvarez helped himself to the fifth goal.

This is a team which can destroy anybody when they are in the mood and, after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid on penalties…the Sky Blues have certainly been in the mood!

City are one point off the top with a game in hand and when they head to London their title rivals, Arsenal, are travelling the other way with a tasty clash away to Manchester United on Sunday, and another three points will pile on the pressure in what is already a tricky task for Mikel Arteta’s challengers. The Red Devils aren’t in good form but they are sure to raise their game against their old rivals.  

Can Diop continue his dominant form?

After picking up a top ten finish last year the Cottagers have laboured at times this term and are sitting in 13^th but, equally, they have played some fine football and have never been near the relegation tussle. Silva’s men have been competitive in recent home games against Newcastle United and Liverpool but ended up on the losing side and they won’t find the Sky Blues any easier.

Fulham are bound to spend much of the game on the back foot and so the recent form of centre back Issa Diop is certainly cause for some optimism. The 6ft 4in Frenchman moved from West Ham at a cost of £15m in 2022 and he has been a colossus at the back in the last two games, a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and a goalless stalemate away to Brentford.

He put in a man-of-the-match performance against the Bees, keeping the hosts’ chances down to a minimum and when Brentford did carve out an opening Diop was on hand to head away a goal-bound effort from Keane Lewis-Potter.

Keeper Bernd Leno has been in fine form too and he would love to do his former club Arsenal a favour; but the Germany international will need to play the game of his life. And when Fulham do get out of their own half they need to be clinical; winger Alex Iwobi will try to find the space to feed in form striker Rodrigo Muniz.          

History

With 23 wins to four, Manchester City have completely bossed this relationship and Fulham have failed to win any of the last 15. When the two teams met at the Etihad Stadium back in September, Guardiola’s lads won 5-1, while the corresponding fixture last season saw City take all three points from Craven Cottage with a 2-1 victory.  

And with five wins and a draw from the last six games, the Sky Blues are clicking through the gears, while Fulham are stuttering to the finish line, with one win, two draws and three defeats.    

Betting Tip

The Cottagers are at 8.29 to win this game, with the draw at 5.80 and the Double Chance: Fulham Win or Draw at 3.64. If Silva’s men can upset the champions it will be all over the Premier League 2024 news for the rest of the weekend, that’s for sure.

I can’t see it happening though, as the Sky Blues are masters at this stage of a campaign and they have been looking increasingly like champions over the past few rounds. I think City will win and I think there will be plenty of goals, with Fulham getting on the score-sheet too.

 

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