Fulham vs Arsenal preview: Gunners aim to extend lead as the Lilywhites seek upset

Fulham welcomes Arsenal to Craven Cottage on Saturday evening in a London derby, with the Gunners looking to stay top of the pile.

Fulham suffered a 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth last time out just before the international break, and Marco Silva will be seeking to return back to winning ways against an in-form Arsenal.

Arsenal claimed the top spot with a 2-0 win over West Ham in their last outing after champions Liverpool fell to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.

Match preview

Fulham have only won one of their last 14 Premier League games against Arsenal (D4 L9), a 2-1 victory in December 2023.

After winning five successive league visits to Fulham from 2012/13 to 2022/23, Arsenal have since failed to win at Craven Cottage in both of the last two campaigns (D1 L1).

The Lilywhites have won both of their last two Premier League home games, last winning three in a row at Craven Cottage in December 2023.

The Gunners have only lost one of their last 18 London derbies in the Premier League (W13 D4), a 0-1 home defeat to West Ham in February last season.

Fulham have lost both of their last two Premier League games and could lose three in a row for the first time since December 2023.

Bukayo Saka has netted three goals across his last four Premier League appearances against Fulham.

Alex Iwobi has created four chances via line-breaking passes in the division this term, with Bruno Fernandes the only player to do so more (5).

Team news

Fulham

Sasa Lukic suffered a groin injury during the Cottagers’ last encounter with Bournemouth, and he misses out.

Rodrigo Muniz is unavailable for the host due to a hamstring issue.

Antonee Robinson remains a doubt, as he is struggling with a knee injury that limited his game time on international duty.

Samuel Chukwueze was substituted at half-time in Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier against Benin and could also be a doubt.

Arsenal

Captain Martin Odegaard is unavailable for the visitors, as he’s out with a knee injury.

Piero Hincapie is back and has returned to training after missing last month’s action with a groin problem.

Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Noni Madueke are all unavailable for the trip across the capital with injuries.

Predicted line-ups

Fulham: Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Joachim Andersen, Calvin Bassey, Ryan Sessegnon, Tom Cairney, Sander Berge, Harry Wilson, Emile Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi, Josh King.

Arsenal: David Raya, Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Riccardo Calafiori, Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Viktor Gyökeres.