Fulham and Arsenal are set to lock horns in Sunday’s Premier League meeting at Craven Cottage.
The Gunners go into the match against the Gunners on the back of a 3-1 victory over Brighton, having previously secured a 1-1 draw against Tottenham last weekend.
Meanwhile, Arsenal go into the Fulham clash in amazing form, having won all four of their games since the November international break.
Fulham are now sixth in the Premier League table and pushing for the European places, while Arsenal are third and eager to keep chipping away at Liverpool’s lead.
BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has now predicted how the Cottagers and the Gunners will fare in Sunday’s 2pm GMT kick-off at Craven Cottage.
Declan Rice of Arsenal is closed down by Raul Jimenez of Fulham during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Arsenal FC at Craven Cottage ...
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
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Chris Sutton backs Arsenal for narrow 2-1 win at Fulham
Sutton, writing on BBC Sport, acknowledged how strong Fulham are at home and how wrong he was to back Brighton to win there.
He also noted how the Cottagers have several former Arsenal players in their ranks who may want to fire back against their old club.
However, Sutton also noted how strong the Gunners are since Martin Odegaard’s return to full fitness, and backed the visitors to record a 2-1 win.
“Fulham won this fixture last season and they had a brilliant win over Brighton last time out,” wrote Sutton.
“I can’t believe I went for the Seagulls to win that game, because I know how strong Fulham are at Craven Cottage.
“It is only the fact they are playing Arsenal that is stopping me going for a home win here.
✅ 99
🔜 100
This weekend Martin Odegaard is set to become only the fifth player to captain us in a century of matches since 1989 🙌
📊 Take a look at the stats behind his reign as skipper 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 6, 2024
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“Arsenal needed corners to find a way past Manchester United on Wednesday, but they deserved to win the game anyway.
“Martin Odegaard is a special talent and he is the difference maker for them. He knits everything together and he is the reason they are going on a bit of a run.
“Their confidence is growing and they look strong all over the pitch.
“This might be a tougher test for them (than Man United), especially because some of Fulham’s key players are Gunners old boys.
“One of them could easily come back to haunt Arsenal and put a dent in their title bid, but Arteta’s side have got the ability to grind out results when they need to.”
Arsenal have made a name for themselves on the set-piece front, with Ruben Amorim admitting set-pieces changed the game against Manchester United.
Fulham v Arsenal team news
Reiss Nelson is still on Arsenal’s books and won’t be able to play against his parent club due to the terms of his loan.
However, the likes of Bernd Leno, Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi should be in action and eager to get one over on their old club.
Fulham captain Tom Cairney is suspended for the game, while Harrison Reed and Joachim Andersen are expected to miss out.
Meanwhile, Arsenal could potentially have Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori available after both defenders missed the United game.
Fellow defenders Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are long-term absentees and won’t be involved.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is expected to lead the Gunners out for the 100th time in his career.
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