Fulham vs. Manchester City

Fulham gets almost no time to savor their victory against Spurs since they've got to get back out on Tuesday night to take on Manchester City at the Cottage. Kickoff is at 2:30pm EST on USA Network.

18: The number of consecutive loses Fulham has against Manchester City. It has been over fourteen years since Fulham even got a draw. Fulham also haven't put together three wins in a row for a long time. Clearly, the smart money is on Manchester City coming into this one despite their sub-par form this season.

I'm worried about Raul in this midweek match. I'm happy to have two consecutive wins, and I've generally been pleased with the recent lineups, but it still seems foolish to not have brought in Kusi-Asare (who scored Fulham's only goal for the U-21's against Aldershot Town last week). Raul cannot keep playing 90 minutes through the busy festive season without breaking. What is the alternative then? Have Wilson play a false-nine? He just tweaked his hamstring, and while he is expected to play against City, I'm concerned with his health too. Maybe put Adama up top? Ick. I'm not at Motspur Park, but I have trouble imagining a situation where Kusi-Asare is such a terrible option that he can't even be allowed on the bench.

In addition to Raul and Wilson, Chukwueze may not be ready on Tuesday to put in an effort equal to what he showed on Saturday. I expect to see some changes in the line up that will be pretty defensive and look to just sit back and hope for some breaks to take advantage of. It is all likely to lead to the normal result - 3 points to City. I just hope for no injuries or suspensions so Fulham can quickly put this match behind them and move on.

 

I'm also really curious about how Silva will set us up tomorrow. He's learned to be more pragmatic, so I won't be surprised if we see 5 in the back. On the other hand, if we cede the middle to City, will having 5 defenders save us? But the double Berge/Lukic pivot has been making us sluggish and may not be the right answer, either. Come out exactly like we did against the Spurs? But, as @MicahMan points out, are Raul and Harry ready to go? So many questions and not a lot of clear answers, except Leno in goal and Andersen somewhere along the backline. Marco might not be sleeping much tonight.

 

Well that was fun! I went from feeling embarrassed to very proud of Fulham. If you are going to lose to City, that is the way to do it - make them scared and eager to get out of the Cottage! Granted, City didn't have to play with the same intensity in the second half, but I think this shows again that Fulham is better without the Lukic/Berge pairing. That's not Lukic's fault, it is just not dynamic enough with the two of them. I'm glad to see Smith-Rowe put in a good performance and for Chukwueze to finally get a goal. It would be great if we could see some more of that offensive output through the rest of December. And Kusi-Asare made an appearance finally! Hopefully he did well enough to give Raul some relief over the coming weeks.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPksqEK8T58

 

When I saw the starting lineup, my heart fell. We spotted City three goals. Once Marco made the changes--and the credit goes to him for making the right changes--Fulham started to hum. I think it's clear now: we need one of Lukic or Berge, but not both.

I've seen enough of Chuk to want him to stay. TK, activate that clause in the loan agreement! He was fantastic. Much more dynamic than Kevin, but I think Kevin's problem is that he's still not confident enough and too tentative. Kevin has all the right attributes, just needs more belief.

Kusi-Asare showed some intelligent movement. Hopefully, he'll keep getting minutes.

The one player who will be unhappy tonight is Leno. It was an off night for him. He didn't make a single save. Normally, he would stop one or two of the five.

Onward! This is a Fulham team we can be proud of.