Fulham at Liverpool

Fulham visits Liverpool on Saturday with kickoff at 10am EST on Peacock.

Fulham has gotten a great return of 5 points in three December matches against teams above them in the table. Now Fulham has the biggest challenge of the season, a visit to Anfield against a Liverpool team that is pulling away from the rest of the league.

There will be key players missing. Andersen continues to recover, but Bassey will miss a match due to his 5th yellow that he received against Arsenal (I'll gladly take that yellow in exchange for the point). That means Diop and Cuenca will be the central defensive pair. Diop has done really well this season and hasn't shown any of the mental lapses that plagued him last season. However, Cuenca has not impressed me with his limited playing time. He's been okay, but this is a match against Liverpool. I fully expect them to get around Robinson by attacking more centrally. Cuenca will definitely be tested and have a chance to show what he's got.

Meanwhile, Cairney continues to serve his red card suspension and Reed will still be out. Unfortunately, Nelson's injury has turned out to be pretty severe and he'll be out for months. He had trouble finishing, but he was certainly exciting to watch with the ball.

Liverpool is coming off a tight win against Girona in the Champions League. It featured the return of Alisson in goal and he was the key factor in their clean sheet. He'll certainly be back in net for his first Premier League match in a while and he might also be joined by Jota.

As always, this Fulham squad has a shot at anyone, anywhere. However, I can't imagine Fulham could get points from all of these early December matches. This has to be the point where the run comes to an end.

 

What a match, giveth and taketh away, will take a point at Anfield, but damn it could’ve been all 3

 

I would have taken a point gladly before the game. Now it feels like a spurned opportunity to take all 3. But what a PERFORMANCE from Jedi. Again. My MOTM. I wonder how much longer we'll be able to hold on to him. He would make top Champions League teams stronger. It's certainly much more fun to compete for a European spot than fight for survival.

 

As it seems others feel, I know I should be happy with a point, but I can't help but feel disappointed in the result after how things went in the first 25 minutes. Fulham, once again, should have come away with a win. There have been so many missed opportunities this season, but with the team doing so well overall it is hard to get too upset.

I'm not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I almost didn't want Robertson to come off. Fulham was looking really good in the opening stages. Their counters were stretching and pulling the Liverpool backline and opening up a number of opportunities. I worried that forcing Liverpool to adjust their style would make things more difficult for Fulham. After Liverpool settled down about 30 minutes in, it felt like that started to happen. Liverpool was really good with their press when they lost the ball so that it felt like Fulham was short a man. It was so frustrating Fulham couldn't just maintain possession. This was a time when I think Cairney could have been a great sub. He can come in and get Fulham to hold on to the ball, but sadly that wasn't an option. I just wish Fulham could have gotten a second goal when Liverpool was still rattled after the red.

That was a performance from Robinson that was almost too good! It certainly was the kind of showing that gets him on the short list for a bigger squad. I also have to say Cuenca impressed me as well. I was really worried he'd be the weakest link, and he wasn't at all. He coordinated well with Robinson on defense and held his own against some great players. I don't blame him at all on the Jota goal. The mid-field put the Fulham back line in an awkward position and Jota just worked his magic from there.

One thing that helps me get over my disappointment in this match is that Fulham has gotten points from every match so far in December. I did not think that was possible. Fulham will be in position to make a run for something special in the back half of the season.

 

"Fulham will be in position to make a run for something special in the back half of the season."
I agree and with this brings optimism and hope...dangerous qualities for me to possess during a Fulham campaign.
COYW

 

The match was entertaining to say the least. I too am conflicted with the result. I should be happy with the one point but it’s kind of hard to not think Fulham should have walked away with three. But given Fulham’s penchant for giving up late goals (Brentford match aside), the result is not surprising. Still I never would have thought that Fulham would have fewer losses the Man City nearly halfway through the season.