Saturday Fulham Stuff - 05/10/24...

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Marco Silva wary of setting Fulham targets after fine start to season
Fulham sit sixth after winning three of their six first games

Marco Silva is not setting concrete targets for Fulham's season after an impressive start to the campaign.

Fulham, who finished 13th last season, have won three and lost only one of their opening six Premier League games to sit sixth in the league ahead of Saturday's trip to the Etihad to face defending champions Manchester City.

In the 2022/23 season, newly-promoted Fulham were tipped for an immediate return to the Championship but Silva instead masterminded a 10th-place finish.

Silva, who believes his side are better now than they were then, said: "I like to be ambitious and want us to grow. The Premier League is so demanding.

"You have the top six, but now you talk about the top eight and top nine. The competition is so hard every single week."

Fulham are currently in a European place, but Silva tempered expectations over what his side can achieve this season, adding: "We have to be there for the good moments but when the setbacks come you have to respond. But it is clear we want to do better than last season and that is our target."

Fulham won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest last weekend through a Raul Jimenez penalty, but it later emerged that Andreas Pereira had been the designated penalty-taker before Jimenez insisted on taking the spot-kick instead.

"We have to wait for the matchday", Silva said, when asked who Fulham's regular penalty taker currently is. "We have some good penalty takers in our team and it is up to me to decide who is the taker.

"I can decide from one game to the other and if I have to change something then we would have already spoken about it. It was not something that was good to see. We have spoken about the moment already and we have sorted it."



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/marco-silva-fulham-fc-season-targets-b1185912.html

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Man City vs Fulham: Premier League Preview, Gameweek 7, 2024
The Citizens welcome an in-form Fulham side to the Etihad

Pep Guardiola's side look to regain top spot in the Premier League table as Fulham visit the Etihad Stadium in their hardest test of the season so far.

Marco Silva's side conquered Newcastle United less than a month ago with a 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage. Fulham have made an emphatic start to the season, joining the big names at the top of the table as they currently sit in sixth place.

Man City have failed to win in their previous two fixtures, including a dramatic 2-2 draw against Arsenal and a below-par performance against Newcastle at St James' Park, which resulted in a 1-1 stalemate.

City have struggled without one of their best players in Rodri, who suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury against Arsenal and has since been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Guardiola's efforts in replacing the defensive midfielder have been temperamental after using  a combination of Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, with Rico Lewis almost certain to make his mark after a sublime display in Bratislava on Tuesday night.

Emile Smith Rowe - who joined Fulham from Arsenal in a deal worth £34m - has made an excellent start to life in West London, scoring against both Newcastle and Leicester City.

The visitors are quite clearly the underdogs in this tie, but there's little doubt that Silva will bring his best tactics to Manchester on Saturday.

    Team News

Manchester City

Nathan Ake remains a doubt with Kevin de Bruyne and Oscar Bobb expected to be out for some time.

Bobb suffered a fracture in his leg during training which ended his involvement in City's preparations as the Blues look to win a fifth Premier League title in a row.

Erling Haaland is likely to feature. He has 11 goals in all competitions so far this season and recently reached a milestone of 100 goals in English football after just 105 appearances.

The Norwegian forward equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record at Real Madrid for the fewest games to reach 100 goals in a major European League.
Fulham

Head coach Silva reported that there were no new injury concerns among his squad, though Jorge Cuenca and Carlos Vinicius remain sidelined by injuries.

Vinicius has missed four games for the Cottagers so far this season with a calf problem, whereas Cuenca suffered an ankle injury towards th

Former Wolves strike Raul Jimenez's presence is inevitable, with Smith Rowe also likely to start.

    Predicted Lineups

Manchester City

Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Grealish, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Fulham

Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Pereira, Lukic; Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Adama; Jimenez

    Key Players

Man City - Phil Foden

Foden has had a slow start to the 2024-25 season but following his magnificent performance against Slovan Bratislava, he could begin to show his top-flight form again if Guardiola choses to include him.

The 22-year-old has only made three Premier League appearances so far this season - accumulating only 89 minutes of football from a possible 270.

But after being awarded PFA Player of the Year in August, there's no doubt he will begin to play his part again.

Fulham - Emile Smith Rowe

After making his mark for Fulham following a shock transfer from the Gunners, Silva has put the midfielder to great use after his arrival to Craven Cottage.

Since the age of 10, Smith Rowe has been an academy product of Arsenal but had become frustrated with his lack of minutes for the North London club.

His arrival to Fulham sparked great doubts, though the 24-year-old understandably wanted minutes which he has since received under Silva.

Smith Rowe poses a great threat to City—not only due to his inevitable presence but also to Rodri's absence, which Fulham will hope to take full advantage of.

    Match Details

Where is the match being played?

The match will be played at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester - home of Man City.

What time is kick-off?

The game kicks off on Saturday 5th October and will start at 15:00 GMT.

How can I watch?

Due to the 15:00 blackout, the match will not be available to view in the UK. However, highlights will be accessible on the Sky Sports YouTube channel from 17:15 GMT, and Match of the Day on BBC One from 22:30 GMT.



https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2024/10/04/premier-league/1198893-man-city-vs-fulham-premier-league-preview-gameweek-7-2024.html

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Fulham's post-Palhinha revamp offers pointers for Guardiola's Rodri puzzle
Fulham were widely expected to regress this season. As much as they tried to prolong it, they lost the very public battle of retaining João Palhinha, the important cog in their midfield opting to sign for Bayern Munich in the summer. Adding to the challenges, they have not had a reliable goalscorer since Aleksandar Mitrovic's departure a year earlier and lost several first-team players in the past transfer window. Yet early results have dispelled concerns of a decline. Fulham sit sixth in the Premier League – up from 11th at this stage last season.

The departure of Palhinha posed a unique challenge: try to replace an irreplaceable player or adapt without him. Marco Silva opted for the latter. Without their midfield destroyer, the manager has pushed Fulham higher up the pitch, now deploying the fifth-highest defensive line in the league, behind only Manchester City, Brighton, Tottenham and Arsenal (Fulham ranked 17th last season).

The former Crystal Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen has become the linchpin in the system revamp. The Dane has transformed Fulham's buildup play, using his passing range to pick out Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traoré with long diagonals. His technical prowess also ensures the opposition rarely disrupts the new high line.

"We really pushed the board [to sign Andersen]," says Silva. "The club made the effort and we are delighted to have him with us because of his leadership, maturity, understanding and knowledge about the Premier League. We need to assemble a team with certain types of attributes. Andersen has them all to be honest.

"The quality is there, the way we want to play, the way we want to build from the back with a back four. He is already a great tool for us to use, and I think he is going to be a really important signing for us. He has already shown that."

Rather than pairing a ball-winner like Palhinha with a traditional box-to-box midfielder, Silva has restructured the midfield to allow Sasa Lukic and Andreas Pereira, along with Traoré, Iwobi and Smith Rowe, to win the ball back collectively, rather than relying solely on one player to recover possession in deeper areas.

"When you don't concede the goals, it is not just because of the back four or the goalkeeper," says Silva. "It is up front with the way our striker and offensive midfielder start to press. The organisation from our midfielders is really important to help the back four. We've been improving in that respect."

Having players that have featured at other clubs in the Premier League, especially together, has made this system change a lot smoother. "It took a little bit of time for Adama to be at his best level [after he first signed]. This season it is completely different," says Silva. "He had a proper pre-season and now he has to try to keep his level because he is not an easy player to stop when he's at his best.

"His partnership with Raúl [Jiménez] is special. We all know what they had in the past at Wolves. So many assists from one to the other to score. They connect with each other well, even off the pitch, and that is always going to be a good help for us."

Fulham are off to their best Premier League start in 20 years, with just one loss, and that against Manchester United on the opening night of the season. Though Silva has downplayed talk of European qualification, a top-half finish seems well within reach. However, a major test awaits against Manchester City on Saturday. The champions have won their last 16 meetings with Fulham in all competitions – the longest streak of any English side against another. Fulham have not won at the Etihad Stadium since 2009 and last season they conceded nine goals in their two league meetings.

A defeat to City would certainly not derail Fulham's progress or diminish the impact of Silva's system overhaul. But their performance will be a crucial measure of whether the team is ready to take the next step. Although Pep Guardiola is missing Rodri, the Fulham manager has noted a new "unpredictability" to City's play, especially in how they create chances for Erling Haaland.

"Any team in the world would miss something if you lose a player like Rodri because he is a player that is almost impossible to find another one like him but, clearly, they have other solutions, and if someone is going to have solutions it is City," says Silva. "Rodri is a special player, and of course that is not good news for Pep. But that is Pep's problem. We have to look at ourselves and see how we will approach the game.

"With a striker like [Haaland], they decide if they want to press a bit more or attack straight with him from behind. They have the capacity not just to start from the back but they have a No 9 that can link them and hold the ball for long enough before others come. We are aware of it and let's hope we will be able to play our game."



https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/fulham-post-palhinha-revamp-offers-213005569.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jLm5ld3Nub3cuY28udWsv&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGSSSCbmyzz7hlgnAR-g1oo7ORfP7Izl12jcn6IdnWYjcoFB07-9XEh4Ns1ihuJReCbLtxmAfSej2Ek34EqMRJulvX6NpnGHy-oRYL7DEXi43EYZcxh9kW7GNu4z5NzX9RiJX-1PJhqPFPmRcnlfMMkdI6mHox9jExTaj7xOfYPP

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PL2: George and Olise among the scorers for Chelsea in 6-0 win against Fulham
Tyrique George and Richard Olise were on target as Chelsea beat Fulham 6-0 in a Premier League 2 fixture played at Motspur Park on Friday evening.

It was a drab first half as no goal was scored, but the game came alive in the 52nd minute when Donnell McNeilly pounced on a mistake from the Fulham defence, having been assisted by George.

Five minutes later, the Anglo-Nigerian forward got himself on the scoresheet, striking a powerful shot into the far corner to net his first goal of the season in the competition.

The 18-year-old was also involved in the third goal. He set up McNeilly, whose shot was parried away by the goalkeeper Alexander Borto, but Olise was there to tap in the rebound.

In the 75th minute, George was brought off for Zain Silcott-Duberry while Deivid Washington replaced McNeilly.

Washington got himself on the scoreboard on the stroke of the stoppage time with a brilliant solo effort and Jimmy Jay-Morgan rounded up the scoring in the stoppage time.

Chelsea's victory tonight was their second in the Premier League 2 this season, inflicting on Fulham their first loss of the campaign.

With his contributions today, George has now registered one goal and three assists in the Premier League 2 this term, while Olise registered his first goal involvement of the season.

Former Chelsea schoolboy Chibuzo Nwoko entered the game as a substitute in the 75th minute.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid



https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=53190

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Man City out to equal club-record unbeaten run in Fulham clash
Manchester City will have the chance to equal a club-record unbeaten run when they play host to Fulham in Saturday's Premier League clash.

The Citizens are set to return to league action after enjoying a successful outing in Tuesday's Champions League away game against Slovan Bratislava.

Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee all got on the scoresheet to fire their side to a dominant 4-0 victory in the Slovakian capital.

While they emerged victorious in midweek, Man City have had to settle for draws in their last two Premier League matches against Arsenal and Newcastle United.

With that in mind, their main focus will be to clinch all three points in their home meeting with Fulham, but they also have the chance to equal a club record.

Man City on verge of equalling club record
Man City require just a point from Saturday's contest to equal a club record for the longest unbeaten league run in their history.

The Citizens have gone 29 top-flight matches without defeat, having recorded 23 wins and drawn six matches since they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa in December.

Pep Guardiola's charges previously avoided defeat in 30 consecutive Premier League games from April 2017 to January 2018.

The Premier League champions also have the chance to join an exclusive club after avoiding defeat in each of their previous 49 home matches in all competitions.

They are now just one game away from becoming the fourth English top-flight team to go 50 straight competitive matches without defeat.

Man City looking to extend incredible winning streak against Fulham
Man City will certainly fancy their chances of avoiding a surprise loss on Saturday, having fared well in their recent meetings with Fulham.

In fact, the Citizens have won each of their previous 16 head-to-head meetings, making it the longest winning run ever recorded by an English team against a single club.

Man City have won 15 and drawn three of their previous 18 encounters since suffering their most recent defeat against Fulham in April 2009.

If Man City are to claim a positive result, they will have to do it without the services of playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.

Guardiola has confirmed that the Belgium international is sidelined along with Rodri, Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake.



https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-city/news/what-club-record-can-man-city-equal-in-fulham-clash_554756.html?newsnow

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An in form Fulham will take on Manchester City at the Etihad
Manchester City will take on Fulham today at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola's side will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the 24/25 season against Marco Silva's side. But a tough test awaits the world champions based on how strongly Fulham have started the new campaign.

The Cottagers head into today's game sitting 6th on the Premier League table. Since their defeat to Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season they are unbeaten in their past 5 Premier League fixtures. Perhaps their best result of the season was their 3-1 win over Newcastle at Craven Cottage last month. Marco Silva's side will head into today's game full of confidence based on their impressive start to the season.

Looking at Fulham one of their strengths has been their defence. The Cottagers have only conceded 5 goals in 6 Premier League games this season. That defence gives them a solid foundation from which to attack. It was this defence that held Nottingham Forest last week in Fulham's 1-nil win at the City Ground.

But Fulham also has weapons of their own in midfield and upfront. Antonee Robinson provides pace and width from left-back. The American international is one of the better left-backs in the Premier League. In midfield, Fulham are blessed with a host of quality options. Andreas Pereira and Sasa Lukic give Marco Silva a solid pairing in midfield. Alex Iwobi and Adama Traore provide width and the odd pieces of brilliance when they're at their best. Up front Raul Jimenez is a proven Premier League performer who can be a threat on hist day. New signing Emile Smith Rowe has added even more quality to Fulham's ranks.

Manchester City will have to be at their best to beat Fulham at the Etihad later today. Marco Silva's side has made an impressive start to the new season. They are strong defensively and have a host of options that could punish City if they aren't at their best. If Pep Guardiola's side are too continue their impressive start to the new campaign they'll have to fight hard to overcome a tough Fulham outfit.



https://esteemedkompany.com/2024/10/05/an-in-form-fulham-will-take-on-manchester-city-at-the-etihad/

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Man City vs Fulham: Preview, predictions and lineups

    Man City continue their Premier League title hunt by hosting Fulham
    Cityzens beat Slovan Bratislava handsomely midweek in the Champions League
    Cottagers have made an encouraging start to the season with three league victories

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.

What time does Man City vs Fulham kick-off?
    Location: Manchester, England
    Stadium: Etihad Stadium
    Date: Saturday 5 October
    Kick-off Time: 15:00 GMT / 10:00 ET / 07:00 PT
    Referee: Peter Bankes
    VAR: Graham Scott

Man City vs Fulham H2H Record (Last Five Games)

    Man City: 5 wins
    Fulham: 0 wins
    Draws: 0

Current form (all competitions)

Man City	Fulham
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Man City - 01/10/24	Nottingham Forest 0-1 Fulham - 28/09/24
Newcastle 1-1 Man City - 28/09/24	Fulham 3-1 Newcastle - 21/09/24
Man City 2-1 Watford - 24/09/24	Preston 1-1 (16-15p) Fulham - 17/09/24
Man City 2-2 Arsenal - 22/09/24	Fulham 1-1 West Ham - 14/09/24
Man City 0-0 Inter - 18/09/24	Ipswich 1-1 Fulham - 31/08/24

How to watch Man City vs Fulham on TV and live stream

Country	TV channel/live stream
United Kingdom	BBC Radio 5 Live (audio only)
United States	Peacock
Canada	fuboTV, Fubo Sports Network 4 Canada

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

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

Man City vs Fulham score prediction
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



https://www.90min.com/man-city-vs-fulham-preview-predictions-lineups-5-10-24

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Manchester City v Fulham: Gut Feelings
How Our Team See Saturday's Match

Manchester City take on Fulham at the Etihad Stadium before once again, breaking for pointless internationals. You know, there was a time when footballers would play for their national side without the need to break at the weekend.

Anyway, City will be looking to defend their unbeaten start to the season and face a team lying in sixth place after a decent start to the season. This fixture has been traditionally a guaranteed City win, but City have gifted early goals twice to visitors this season, and they'll need to be wary of doing he same think with the Cottagers.

As usual, our team are here to give their views, opinions and predictions in a hopeless attempt to win points that yield no reward except bragging rights at the end of the season.

Saul
Need a win and need it big. City return to form in the league. 4-1 City.

City 4-1 Fulham

Will
Manchester City got back to winning ways against Slovan Bratislava, and will look to continue their run before the international break with three points against Fulham.

It won't be easy, however, as Fulham have started the season very well with the old Wolverhampton Wanderers duo of Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez thriving again whilst City are struggling defensively at the moment.

I still think City will win due to their own attacking threats, but it'll be a tight and high scoring game unless their defence comes together better than it has done recently.

City 3-2 Fulham

Thomas
The Cottagers are the next club to try their luck at the Etihad. City took care of business in the UCL midweek and now look to collect all three points against Fulham after back-to-back draws in the Prem. Foden starts a second consecutive match and finds a goal running into the forward spaces created by Haaland. We'll give the big fella a goal as well.

City 3-1 Fulham

Pete
City haven't failed to score against Fulham for quite a while now and I don't think they'll fail to do so on Saturday. However, City have failed to keep a clean sheet at home all season and Fulham do often score. So I'm going for a comfortable City win and a clean sheet, just for the hell of it.

City 4-0 Fulham



https://bitterandblue.sbnation.com/2024/10/5/24262344/manchester-city-v-fulham-gut-feelings

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"I didn't want to" – Adama Traoré says Wolves insisted on 'curious' injury prevention
Adama Traoré spent five years at Wolverhampton Wanderers before arriving at Fulham on a free transfer in August 2023.

Wolves took him from Middlesbrough in 2018 and he started picking up shoulder injuries in his first few years at Molineux.

According to Transfermarkt, the winger had shoulder problems on three occasions during the 2019/20 season.

The 28-year-old was a guest of DAZN España's show, Erasmus FC, where he opened up about the 'curious' method employed by Wolves to help him avoid getting injured. He was applying baby oil on his body to prevent opposition from harming his shoulders.

Traoré has claimed he was initially not in favour of this approach. He eventually decided to go ahead with it, which he says was due to the insistence of his former club.

"The oil thing is because I had a shoulder injury before, when I came back, I had like a strap that was holding my shoulder," he said.

"Opponents knew I had that problem and what they did a lot of times when dribbling or one on one, they grabbed my arm to make me uncomfortable.

"So, what they did is they gave me oil. First it was in a game, they insisted a lot and I didn't want to, I felt uncomfortable. It was quite funny the first action I did when the defender came to me and said: 'hey, what's that on your hand, I feel it's slippery'."

The Spain international was able to avoid further shoulder problems at Wolves, but he struggled with hamstring injuries. This has plagued him even at Fulham, forcing him to miss 142 days last season.

Traoré has been a regular under Marco Silva's orders this season. He's scored a goal and registered two assists from seven matches for Fulham.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-didnt-want-to-adama-traore-says-wolves-insisted-on-curious-injury-prevention/

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Liverpool target reveals crafty Mo Salah chat with Slot readying January signing of Man Utd target
Mo Salah would seemingly be behind a Liverpool move for Antonee Robinson after the Fulham man detailed an extraordinary on-field chat with the Reds attacker and amid reports a January move to Anfield could be on the cards.

Liverpool have taken to life brilliantly under new coach Arne Slot, having won eight of his nine matches in charge so far to make a mockery of claims they would suffer a dip following the exit of charismatic former manager Jurgen Klopp.

Their start under the Dutchman is all the more remarkable given they only effectively have one new signing in their ranks, with Federico Chiesa the only concrete arrival coming into the Reds ranks this summer.

With money to spend in January, Robinson is understood to be a firm target for the Reds with a £35m move being weighed up and with the Daily Express claiming any move could ultimately push Andy Robertson down the pecking order, with the Scot no longer having the same impact he once did.

Any approach from the Reds would almost certainly be endorsed too by talismanic Liverpool attacker Salah, with the Egyptian seemingly a massive admirer of the USA international full-back.

Detailing a chat between them in a 2022 clash, Robinson told The Athletic: "We played Liverpool in the first game of the season two years ago. We drew 2-2. I remember saying to my friends, who are all big Liverpool fans and came down because it was around my birthday, 'Lads if Salah scores or gets an assist this game, I'll pay for dinner tonight', so I put a bit of added pressure on myself.

"And he did, annoyingly. But I remember him saying to me midway through the game, 'How old are you?'. So he didn't really know who I was. I must have been 24, 25.

"He just nodded and carried on with the game. Then, after the game, I asked for his shirt, so we swapped shirts and we were just chatting and he was like, 'You were the best player this game, keep up what you're doing'. That was very nice of him."

Liverpool keen to beat Man Utd to Antonee Robinson
Scotland defender Robertson, now 31, can rightfully claim to be Klopp's best value-for-money signing, having arrived for a £8m snip from Hull City in summer 2017.

Now 31, Robertson has won seven major honours for Liverpool and has 11 goals and 65 assists across 305 games for the club.

However, there have been signs in recent times that his effectiveness is on the decline and this season he is yet to have a goal contribution.

By contrast, Robinson already has two assists to his name this season.

And with Kostas Tsimikas not seen as good enough to be anything more than a squad man, it is logical that Liverpool are looking to Robinson as their top target for the position.

Competition for the player, though, is growing with Manchester City among those linked to his signature.

However, we understand he has also been identified by Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth as they look to address their problematic left-back situation that has effectively seen them without both Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia for the best part of a calendar year.

Any move by United, though, is more likely to come next summer.

And with cash to spend in January, Liverpool could well have a key advantage in the race for the 46-times capped USA international.

PSG stance on Mo Salah swoop revealed / Milan star urged to reject Liverpool
Elsewhere, TEAMtalk reporter Rudy Galetti has confirmed that PSG are indeed keeping tabs on the situation around Salah and with the Liverpool star's contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Salah has been the Reds' top scorer in each of his seven seasons at Anfield so far and already has six goals from nine matches so far this campaign.

But with the player eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas sides from January 1, Liverpool are in growing danger of losing the Egyptian king on a free transfer.

Now Galetti has informed us that PSG do intend to sign a new winger in 2025 and are keeping an eye on the situation around Salah, though are more likely to sign an alternative option instead.

Meanwhile, one man linked with Liverpool if Salah were to leave is AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic. However, the former Chelsea winger has been told exactly why he should snub an offer from the Reds and stay exactly where he is.

Elsewhere, Fabrizio Romano has also provided a new update on Real Madrid's pursuit of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

While Madrid hold concrete interest in the Liverpool right-back, the reporter insists they are not actively trying to prise him out of Merseyside as things stand.

Robinson boasts impressive stats vs another Liverpool target Milos Kerkez


With Liverpool clearly looking into their future selections at left-back, another player we understand who has caught their eye is Bournemouth's Hungarian star Milos Kerkez.

At just 20, he is seven years the junior of Robinson and 11 years younger than Robertson.

The 21-times capped Hungary international has impressed since moving to the Premier League, but is far more raw a talent that Robinson, who looks the safer and more experienced addition.

And a look at last season's metrics shows that the USA international led the Hungarian across a number of key stats, underlining exactly why Robinson is likely to be the player they push for.



https://www.teamtalk.com/liverpool/agent-salah-gets-to-work-liverpool-plot-january-move-beat-man-utd-premier-league-defender

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Predictions v Fulham

Our last game before the second of THREE international breaks before the turn of the year, for flip's sake...🙄

A quick, non-footballing comment regarding last Tuesday's game before I continue. Didn't our lads look dead smart in our all-maroon kit? Far, FAR better than that dirty-lookin', f'in Noel Gallagher "inspired" effort, hey?

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Grealish_________________________________Savinho

_______________________________Foden___________

____________Silva_______________________________

 

_____________________Stones____________________

Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis

____________Dias_______________Akanji___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Ortega, Walker, Wright, Kovacic, McAtee, Gundogan, Nunes, O'Reilly and Doku.

After a surprise [for me at least] to see Ederson dropped for a Champions League fixture in midweek – nothing whatsoever against Stefan, I'm just sayin' – I would imagine that the Brazilian 'gets the nod' to start this league match.

I'm going for a back-4, occasional 3, of Josko, Ruben, Manuel and Rico.

To Stones or to Kovacic? That is the question. It might not be either.

At home, it would be another good opportunity to give Mateo another go at claiming the 'Rodri position'...at least until January; a month where we keep being linked with a variety of defensive midfielders in the transfer market. However, despite him playing the whole 90+ minutes last Tuesday, I've just got a slight feeling that our manager might want to keep John's momentum going ahead of the imminent international break; giving him a go in that position this weekend.

Ahead of the England international I'm going for Jack, Bernardo, Phil and Savinho to start.

Erling is the furthest forward of 'em all.

Stefan returns to the bench as reserve stopper; Kyle would be the only defender on the side in my predicted matchday squad. Jacob, Mateo, James, Ilkay, who I COMPLETELY omitted from my last blog posting in error 😬, Matheus and Nico make up SIX midfielders on the bench; while Jeremy is the only natural wide man sat alongside them.

Then again, in our last league outing Pep chose to field just 8 instead of a full-9 on the bench and two of those were goalkeepers with no youth players in sight... 🤷

Notable absences:

-       Nathan Ake – Bit of an update on the last few weeks: Our manager said, yesterday, that he still expects Nathan to return just after the international break but that it will take time [or him to be fully ready to take part in games]. It sounds like Nathan will be back amongst his teammates on the training pitch after the domestic break but it could be a couple of weeks following that where we see him in contention for a place on the pitch. However, Pep was also of the understanding that Nathan had already started to train on grass alone, so progress is being made just ahead of the internationals. 👍

-       Rodri – Injured Anterior Cruciate Ligament and will be missing for the remainder of the season.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Injured with a groin / pelvic / hip issue and could return just after this break in domestic football. Guardiola went further to say that Kevin now has to really manage his body following major hamstring surgery last season and that two games in three days is definitely no longer possible for the 33-year-old.

-       Oscar Bobb – Out injured with a fractured leg that he received in training. Expected return is anywhere between mid-November and mid-December, going off the initial assessment / information released at the time.

Result?
So, our last game before another annoying set of internationals and we need to end our opening seven-league-game-salvo on a high, for sure, in order to keep with the lead runners.

On Saturday, we face a side who, after their narrow, 1-0 opening-day defeat have since remained unbeaten in the league with 3 wins and 2 draws. Our visitors, therefore, need to be taken most seriously indeed and they sit just 3 points behind us in 6th place.

Apart from banging in 3 goals at home to Newcastle United, they don't appear to be big goal scorers; with 8 from 6 league games in total. However, with just 5 conceded in those same matches it does suggest a tight, organised side.

Yes Blues fans, it's likely to be another one where we'll have to get past two thick-defensive walls before we get sight of their goal...

As for us, forgetting last Tuesday night's training match in Slovakia (yes, that did sound rather arrogant but that's how that game largely played out), I find myself looking at September's results and while on the one hand I applaud the fact that we were undefeated in five games in all competitions; I find myself squinting and frowning just a little whilst scrutinising them in more detail.

-       Brentford: Hit us hard and fast and took the lead in an opening 15 minutes where they could easily have had another couple. Credit to them but why we started so cold and didn't appear to learn from past lessons against The Bees only Pep and the players themselves will know. Thankfully, we took a grip of the game and got there in the end with a 2-1 win.

-       Inter Milan: The Italian side came to defend very professionally and then tried to hit us with moments of magic. They succeeded in keeping a clean sheet but failed to score against us. A rare clean sheet for us 👍 and European points shared.

-       Arsenal: Another 'park the bus' performance from The Gunners at our place but despite that, they still breached us twice; albeit with one goal being surrounded in controversy. Another game where we couldn't keep a clean sheet, and at home too, but points shared nonetheless.

-       Waford: Some personnel changes but still a strong 11 put out by Pep, we managed to seal the win. However, once again we let in a goal and a better finish from our visitors right at the end could have seen 'the 90' end 2-2! 🙄

-       Newcastle United: A really patchy performance form us – good in parts, really sloppy and slow in others with some individual performances best forgotten. Again, there was some controversy with our opponent's goal but, once again, we couldn't keep a clean sheet and ANOTHER points shared.

We certainly do like sharing, don't we? And we sure are far too generous when it comes to letting the opposition score... 😖

As I say, it's well done to us for a month of zero defeats but 3 draws and 2 narrow, 2-1 wins is hardly excellent form, do you agree? I know we have a bit of a reputation for starting campaigns a little slowly before building really good momentum further down the line but I'd like to see us deliver an improved performance and a clean sheet this afternoon.

I'm sort of looking at this game as being somewhat of a 'springboard match'...it's just a shame we're jumping off that springboard into another international break.

Still, all things considered, I'm going for a City win...with a possible clean sheet thrown in for good measure.

Last season's, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

Expected weather conditions during the game: After one of the wettest days in a fair number of years in the region on Monday, which was then followed by a still-damp Tuesday; dry, sunny weather has broken out and it's set to continue today. Hurray! 15C, which is almost 60F in old money, with a good amount of the yellow round thing in the sky too. Even the 11MPH breeze is a southerly one and should simply add to the overall pleasant feeling on an early October afternoon. 🌤😎⚽🍺🥧



http://blue-chews-daze.blogspot.com/2024/10/predictions-v-fulham.html

[WhiteJC]

"That was my plan" – Player explains why he rejected Fulham this summer, wants to make 'fans happy'
Towards the end of the summer window, Fulham made an approach to sign Lyon's Ernest Nuamah.

The Premier League side offered €19m for the winger and their proposal was accepted by the French club. The move was very advanced, but the deal didn't take shape in the end.

Last month, L'Equipe reported Fulham sent their medical team to France to carry out the 20-year-old's medical. It was also explained he was seen crying during the tests and then 'disappeared into thin air' when it was time to sign the contract.

The Ghana international spoke to the reporters yesterday, explaining why he snubbed Marco Silva's side and decided to stay at Lyon. His comments are relayed by But! Football Club.

Numah has a desire to succeed at Lyon, where he has featured in the Europa League this season. On the other hand, Fulham haven't qualified for the European competition.

"I wanted to stay and develop here as a player, play in Europe and help the team. That was my plan. The environment is favourable to my development. I like the style of play, that was my decision. I like the stadium, I like everything here," he said.

"Now I just need to express myself more on the pitch, score goals and help the team. I think that's what will make the fans happy."

Last month, Lyon owner John Textor revealed that he has apologised to the attacker for trying to sell him to Fulham.

Numah has made five appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 side this season.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/that-was-my-plan-player-explains-why-he-rejected-fulham-this-summer-wants-to-make-fans-happy/