Fulham vs. Brighton

Fulham hosts Brighton on Thursday with kickoff at 2:30 EST on Peacock.

I feel like something has to break in this match. Fulham has never been beaten by Brighton in the Premier League. Eight matches without a loss. That's the good streak. The bad streak is Fulham's inability to score on set pieces. Fulham hasn't scored from a corner or free kick yet this season. That's just ridiculous, especially when considering how effective Fulham were with set pieces last season. Then another good streak is Fulham's 12 consecutive matches with a goal. Fulham was only shut out in the opening game against Manchester United. Fulham has struggled to score sometimes, but they always find a way. I think one of these streaks will end on Thursday. I know which one I prefer.

Fulham will be short-handed in this match with Lukic serving a one-game ban for five yellows and Cairney serving a three-game ban for his red. Andersen and Reed will also be out due to injuries. Pereira should be allowed back from the dog house he was sent to after saying he was disappointed he didn't go to Marseille over the summer. And when will Harry Wilson get a start? I suspect he might have to wait until the Arsenal match this weekend when Nelson will be unavailable to play against his parent club.

Brighton has done really well against the top clubs and poorly against the bottom clubs, so if Brighton wins this one does that mean Fulham is worthy of a European spot?

 

I like the way you think Micah.

 

Cue It James!!!!!

 

What a Fulhamish way to get a first score off of a set piece! Bouncing the ball off of O'Riley's bum. But we'll take it!

I think that things were more balanced than the final score line represented, but Fulham got some breaks today that they finally took advantage of. When you score three times with two shots on target, things are going your way. It did feel like there was more of a spark with Wilson and Muniz on the pitch. Wilson pushing Brighton back and Muniz did a good job of winning the ball when Leno had to kick it long to get out of the press. I think that is huge advantage in a game like where the opposition kept pressing.

Iwobi is certainly the man of the match. It was a team effort to win the ball on the first goal, but he had to quickly transition to get a shot off. And as we saw later from Nelson, a player can sometimes get lost when a shot needs to be taken. That last goal was a great example of Iwobi at his best the way he danced around the defense and then curled the ball into the net. In between those two goals he did a great job of working with Wilson, Nelson, and Muniz to drive Fulham forward on counter attacks.

In a crazy sign of how tight this part of the table is, Fulham went from 12th place to 6th after winning this match. Nine teams within 4 points and Fulham near the top of the bunch. Just crazy.

 

Forgot we had a match today. Glad we won!

 

After what feels like a string of results where Fulham didn't get what they deserved (dropped points or only got a draw from a match they dominated), they ended this match with more than they probably deserved.

Getting four points from the first two matches of this difficult holiday stretch is a good start. Let's hope Fulham can maintain the momentum.

 

I didn't get to turn on the match until around 11 last night. I got through the 1st half but was nodding off during the 2nd. Pleasantly surprised to see a W this morning.