Fulham at Leicester City

Fulham travels to King Power stadium on Monday to face Leicester City. It is a relatively early start for a weekday match - 12:30pm EST. The game will be carried on NBCSN.

Quick quiz (answer at the bottom): What is the thing that only Leicester and Aston Villa have failed to do this season in the Premier League?

The one positive for Fulham going into this match is that Leicester hasn't been great at home so far - two wins and two losses. In the last three home matches they have only scored one goal at home. And maybe a second positive is that Leicester will still be a little thin with Ricardo, Soyuncu, and Ndidi all still unavailable.

And that's all for the positives! With a win, Leicester would be tied at the top of the table at 21 points with Tottenham and Liverpool. If they really thrash Fulham by six goals or more they would be in first place. So, Leicester certainly has a lot to play for. Leicester has twice as many goals as Fulham. Fulham is back in the relegation zone after Burnley and West Brom got their first wins of the season. Fulham has yet to get a point from anyone above 17th place in the table. Bottom line is that getting any points Monday is likely to be a challenge for Fulham.

Quiz Answer: Leicester and Aston Villa are the only teams without a draw this season.

 

We need a win today. Do we have anybody that can stop long balls over the top to Vardy? Nope. Do we have anybody that can get a ball past Kasper Schmeichel and into the Leicester goal? Not really, unless Mitro starts and we can get him more service. I’ll be looking for a lot more speed, quickness and intent on offense today, not just tons of fruitless possession that seems to be the goal instead of winning these days. We may be able to catch them a bit flat since they played a midweek Europa League fixture in Portugal, an intense 3-3 draw snatched in extra time.

 

Cavaliero up top? (shivering.)

COYW

 

Project 17th with a massive result! Dedicate that one to Papa.

 

Instant analysis: Every time it appears that Parker is out of his depth, he pulls a plan out of his arse that makes sense...and works. Played to the strengths and away from the squad’s weaknesses today. This time, it was the opponent that failed to adjust to the adjustments. Was a bit concerned we didn’t push forward as well in the 2nd half as we did the 1st, but a draw would have been an abnormally harsh result. Anguissa was a boss today, but he was just one of the many heros. Glad to see some redemption for Lookman and Cav today. Wasn’t a perfect penalty, but it was damn sure better than all the rest this season, and it found the back of the net. I like the fact that Cav didn’t get cute and put his foot through it. That and the placement was more than good enough.
Leicester did look flat, no doubt thanks to a spirited outing at Braga mid-week. But we made them look flat, too.
Is this a turning point to build upon? Or an anomaly that will disappear like a fine mist? We’ll
see, but I’ll gladly take today and celebrate a W against the #4 side in the table. Time for a glass of Maker’s!
On to citeh!

 

If they play like that they can stay up. Well done.

 

I would have taken one point and been joyful if it was on offer before the match but three, and I stress, well earned points is a reason for celebration. Fulham were the squad that had:

1. a winning game plan from the manager,
2. players that executed the managers game plan,
3. and the fortitude to hold onto the lead.

Add on a made penalty from a VAR decision and Fulham fans everywhere should be celebrating!

 

It looked like they flipped the script today. Instead of Fulham, it was Leicester that held all the fruitless possession. And instead of the opponent, it was Fulham looking decisive and dangerous on the counter. I’m still not convinced Cavaleiro is earning all the playing time that he’s been getting, but he was certainly effective today.

That’s the kind of fun I’ve been looking for.

 

Well said and I couldn’t agree more Don!

 

I planned on watching the game on peacock tonight, so I took my 5 year old ice skating today. I foolishly wore my Fulham hat to the rink and some guy asked me "did Fulham hang on? When I turned it off they were up by two ." I quickly and somewhat politely told him to shut up, I'm going to watch it later. So I spent most the day knowing we lead by two goals. I now forgive that man. Also my kid got the hang of skating today. Double win.

 

What are the odds of THAT happening?! I also waited for the replay on Peacock. Fortunately the three family members who live with me that were aware of the outcome know to not say a thing. I'm like Vizzini from The Princess Bride, able to extrapolate the outcome of an entire match based on something as simple as a raised eyebrow from my son.

The highlights!


Short highlights from Fulham with a relatively subdued Gentleman Jim, but a clearly excited Jamie


I agree with just about everything that has been said. Parker put together a great plan. I was very skeptical when I saw DeCordova-Reid playing the right side of a five man back line, but it worked. Fulham managed to get more shots on target (5 to 3) with half the possession (32% to 68%). They never once tried to play up from the back and made aggressive counter attacks. Fulham also got lucky early on when Leicester hit the woodwork on consecutive shots. And Fulham made a PK! Like George Costanza, when Fulham did the opposite of everything they had done before, things turned out well.

Multiple players shined too. At times it seemed Anguissa could not have the ball taken off of him. Andersen and Adarabioyo did a great job of limiting Leicester's chances. Lookman didn't do anything fancy and just calmly put the ball around an excellent goal keeper (and very classy to recognize Papa Bouba Diop). Reed kept cutting off passing lanes and kept harrassing Leicester in the midfield. All-around good stuff from the team.

As Jump said, hopefully this is a turning point and not something that fades like Fulham's decisive win over Crystal Palace in 2013.

 

I know it's Tuesday, but don't pinch me just yet. COYW!

 

I feel the same way. I keep reminding myself it was only a regular ole Premier League match - not a playoff game or European tournament - but it still was a thrill. For all the misery we experience as Fulham fans, I wonder if Man. U. or Chelsea fans ever get a feeling like the one we had on Monday. When you come into every match with the expectation of being the best, do you ever get the joy of punching above your weight, of being the David to a Goliath?