Fulham gets the marquee matchup on Saturday with kickoff against Liverpool on NBC at 12:30pm EDT.
Liverpool are coming off a very disappointing run. They just lost to PSG 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final and it could have been a lot worse than 2-0 if Dembele had his shooting boots on. Prior to that they were trounced 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter final. And before that in the league they were beaten at Brighton and drew at home to Spurs leaving them teetering on the edge of Champions League qualification. On top of all that there will be a fan protest on Saturday against ticket prices. It all feels like it is falling apart for Liverpool.
So it is a good time to play Liverpool! But is Fulham up for it? I'm not so sure. It was a pretty dismal international break for Fulham. Wilson and Andersen both saw their countries fail to qualify for the World Cup. Robinson did get an assist (on a corner?!) but it wasn't a great showing for the US. Iwobi got a straight red card in a "friendly" against Jordan for intentionally hitting a guy in the head - Iwobi - mister-happy-go-lucky check-out-my-tunes-on-Instagram-Iwobi. On top of all that, Silva's status is still up in the air and they had to watch Southampton beat Arsenal in the FA Cup. Throw in Fulham's post-break and late-season history and I don't think that Fulham is going to have their heads in the right place for this one.
Last time out, which seems like ages ago, Fulham did get a win against lowly Burnley, but only after going down a goal first. Fulham should be in pretty good health with Kevin the only one who is certainly out. King (who did have a good performance for the England U21 squad) got the start over Smith-Rowe and scored. Given that he could get the start, but I won't be surprised if Silva goes for Smith-Rowe's experience over King's creativity against Liverpool. Bobb has been getting the starts over Chukwueze, but I hope that the roles are reversed for this one. Andersen was the team captain against Burnley, but he's been fading and I won't be upset if Diop gets the start although that is probably unlikely.
Fulham is no PSG, but they found success against Liverpool by just running at their back line. I hope Fulham will come out on the front foot too, put Liverpool under pressure, and look to make an already sour mood at Liverpool get worse. If Fulham can get a win they have a good shot at moving one spot up the table with Brentford and Everton (the two teams above them) playing each other. This is a good opportunity for Fulham, they just need Silva to get them in the right frame of mind.
If Fulham can get a win they have a good shot at moving one spot up the table with Brentford and Everton (the two teams above them) playing each other. This is a good opportunity for Fulham, they just need Silva to get them in the right frame of mind.
And in the glass half empty corner, if Fulham lose and other games go a certain way they will finish the weekend in 13th. Hopefully they’re motivated today.
Turns out Tete and Reed will also be out. Tete is probably the bigger loss, but I will miss the away fans shouting "SHOOT!" every time Reed touches the ball if he came on as a sub against Liverpool.
Liverpool is ripe for the taking.
COYW!!
Fulham have played Liverpool tough for the last couple of years. I don't know what to expect from either side given the long layoff though.
Had to google Iwobi's red. Quite surprising to see.
Well, that went pretty much as expected. Liverpool showed that they are a better team, especially over the first half. Fulham does deserve some credit for forcing Liverpool to convert two very good shots in order to get their goals. The goals didn't come from huge mistakes, just very good players doing what they do. Unfortunately when given similar opportunities Wilson, Muniz, and Smith-Rowe couldn't covert.
I was most disappointed in Robinson. It really left me feeling sad. He's clearly not the player he used to be and Salah finally got the better of him before leaving Liverpool. He didn't look good going forward or on defense and things improved on the left once Sessegnon came on. I'm worried about his future for both Fulham and the US.
Neither Bobb or Chukwueze looked good either. These guys might be the future for Fulham on the wings. That also has me concerned.
Mostly I just felt like the starting XI wasn't up for this. There were a few times in the first half where three Fulham players could have gotten a loose ball and they just looked at each other while a Liverpool player whipped in and got it instead. Those moments signaled that there was just no fire in some of the players.
On the plus side, Lukic looked great in the second half! I groaned mightily when he came on to pair up with Berge, but it ended up being an improvement. Clearly it was a different game with Liverpool looking to nurse a two goal lead, but it was still a great showing from him. I won't mind if the Smith Rowe/Lukic/Berge midfield gets the start against Brentford.
I was at my dad's helping him out with something and I asked him to turn on the game. It seemed like they were holding their own when I was able to look up but then the goals started flying in all of a sudden. We had to go somewhere else so I couldn't see any of the 2nd and I don't think I ever will.
I couldn't see any of the 2nd and I don't think I ever will.
Probably a good choice, but Fulham was much better in the second half - especially when Wilson, Iwobi, Smith-Rowe, Lukic, and Berge were on the pitch together. Still they had problems converting opportunities to goals, but it was far less frustrating to watch than the first half.