In-form Arsenal head to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups, as well as a score prediction alongside our preview.
Fulham vs Arsenal Preview
Fresh off the back of an impressive 3-1 win over Brighton on Thursday evening, Marco Silva and his Fulham side welcome Premier League high-flyers Arsenal to Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.
The Cottagers, who were on a two-game winless run, raced to an early lead against the Seagulls, with former Gunners man Alex Iwobi netting after four minutes. The Nigerian doubled his tally on the evening to ensure all three points late on, taking his total across his last six league matches to four goals and two assists.
Victory in midweek propelled Fulham up to sixth place in the table on 22 points after 14 matches, ahead of the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester United, just four points adrift of the top four.
Vibes FC. pic.twitter.com/peEiI6P5MT
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) December 5, 2024
Arsenal, meanwhile, are six points ahead of the Cottagers in third place and come into Gameweek 15 in fine form, having gone unbeaten in each of their last five matches, including victories in each of the last four.
Last time out, Mikel Arteta‘s side secured an impressive 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Emirates to hand Ruben Amorim his first defeat as Red Devils boss, following on from comfortable victories over Nottingham Forest (3-0), Sporting (5-1) and West Ham (5-2).
The Gunners now find themselves seven points behind league leaders Liverpool, gaining two on the Reds in GW14 thanks to their draw with Newcastle, while they are level on points with city-rivals Chelsea, who are in second.
Despite a second-place finish last term, Arsenal struggled against Fulham in 2023/24. They lost 2-1 at Craven Cottage last December, their most recent meeting, and played out a 2-2 stalemate when they faced off in North London. Arteta’s men will be desperate to make things right with a victory this time around.
For more in-depth statistics ahead of the action, you can check out our Fulham vs Arsenal stats roundup here.
Fulham Team News
The hosts’ victory over Brighton in midweek didn’t come without a cost, as former Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson was forced off with a hamstring injury and looks set for a fairly lengthy spell on the sidelines.
He joins Harrison Reed (knee) and Joachim Andersen (calf) on the treatment table, while Tom Cairney is also unavailable for the Gunners’ visit after being handed a three-match suspension for his red card against Tottenham.
In more positive news, the Cottagers are able to welcome back the previously suspended Sasa Lukic.
Arsenal Team News
As for the visitors, they remain without long-term absentees Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu due to their respective knee injuries, and Gabriel Magalhaes (muscular) and Riccardo Calafiori (knee) are doubts.
Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko started in defence against Manchester United on Wednesday, but should the aforementioned doubts be deemed fit, they will likely come straight back into the lineup in lieu of the pair.
Fulham vs Arsenal Confirmed Lineups
Fulham Confirmed Lineup:
Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge, Smith Rowe; Traore, Jimenez, Iwobi.
Arsenal Confirmed Lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Partey; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Fulham vs Arsenal Prediction
Unsurprisingly, the in-form Gunners are heavily favoured to claim three points against Fulham by the UK’s best football betting sites. We at SportsCasting agree but expect a closely fought battle in West London.
The Cottagers are unbeaten in two successive matches against Arsenal, so they’re clearly a threat to Arteta’s side, however recent form only points one way, and that’s towards a victory for the visitors.
Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and co. should cause some real problems for the hosts, especially as they are without star defender Andersen through injury.
Prediction: Fulham 1-2 Arsenal
