Manchester City return to Premier League action tonight against Fulham – and the game provides a chance to apply some pressure on Arsenal.
Manchester City scraped a 3-2 win at the weekend against Leeds United, courtesy of a late winner from Phil Foden, who surpassed David Beckham and Yaya Toure in the Premier League goalscoring chart.
It was a crucial win, with Arsenal dropping points on the Sunday against Chelsea.
The gap to Arsenal is now five points, so to close that tonight to two would be most welcome. The Gunners then have a tricky game against Brentford.
It is a quick turnaround for City so we will likely be seeing some changes.
Here’s a lineup Manchester City News thinks Pep Guardiola could go with.
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Predicted Man City XI to face Fulham
Phil Foden puts his hands on his hips.
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Gianluigi Donnarumma was back in the starting XI against Leeds and should keep his place, with James Trafford not getting a look in since the Italian’s arrival.
In defence, Guardiola may rotate to bring some freshness.
Rayan Ait-Nouri could replace Nico O’Reilly, while Rico Lewis could get a rare Premier League run out in place of Matheus Nunes.
Our predicted Man City XI to face Fulham!
Come on City
A graphic showing a potential lineup for Manchester City against Fulham.
Manchester City News predicts the starting XI vs Fulham
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In the middle, John Stones and Ruben Dias could pair up, with Josko Gvardiol being rested as he’s played a lot of football.
Rodri is not ready to return yet so Nico Gonzalez will surely continue in the holding role in midfield.
Phil Foden surely won’t be rotated out following his brace, and he could play alongside Tijjani Reijnders.
In attack, Erling Haaland could be flanked by Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku.
Should this be the team Guardiola fields, it would mean four changes from Leeds. Nunes, O’Reilly, Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva to drop out, and Lewis, Ait-Nouri, Stones and Cherki to come in.
Man City have been utterly ruthless against Fulham in recent years
Pep Guardiola giving instructions to Rayan Cherki.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
This is a fixture that should have City fans feeling confident.
While City are not at their absolute best at the moment, they have tended to be when facing Fulham.
City are currently on a whopping 18-game winning streak against Fulham across all competitions, so tonight’s game is a daunting prospect for the Cottagers.
Man City just do net let up when it comes to facing Fulham
This is actually outrageous 😮💨
Fulham have lost their last 18 meetings with Manchester City in all competitions.
The longest losing run one side has had against another in English football history.#FULMCI pic.twitter.com/XC5XFj37gC
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) December 2, 2025
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It is actually the longest ever losing run by one English league side against another in all competitions, so anything but a City win tonight really would be something for the books.
The last time Fulham took even a point off City was in September 2011, and a last Fulham victory came all the way back in April 2009.