Manchester City face their final game of a long, difficult and ultimately disappointing season as the travel to West London to take on Fulham.
Whilst a point should be enough to secure Champions League football next season, taking the three points at Craven Cottage will cement third place in the league and guarantee a seat at Europe’s top table.
Fulham have had a decent season but may still finish 12th depending on the result on Sunday and results elsewhere in the Premier League, but they have had some pretty good results against some of the top teams this season.
Form
Fulham have had an erratic 2025 and go into the final match of the season on the back of two wins and four defeats in their last six matches. Bizarrely, Fulham have only drawn one league match in 2025, a 2-2 home draw with Ipswich at the beginning of January.
Since then, they have either won or lost the following 17 matches, resulting in eight wins and losing nine. They won their last match away to Brentford, but since beating Liverpool 3-2 at Craven Cottage in April, they have lost their last two home matches against Chelsea (1-2) and Everton (1-3).
This season, Fulham have won seven and lost six of their 18 home fixtures this season, scoring 27 and conceding 28 goals. Fulham have only kept two clean sheets at home this season, the first being a 0-0 draw with Southampton and the second coming in a 2-0 victory over Spurs. They have also failed to score three times in front of their home supporters.
Ones to Watch
Raul Jimenez poses the main threat for Fulham on Sunday. The former Wolves man has scored 12 goals from 94 shots, which, from 37 appearances, gives him a goal conversion rate of 13% and a shot accuracy rating of 35%. Former Everton and Arsenal star Alex Iwobi has weighed in with nine goals and Brazilian forward Rodrigo Muniz has hit the back of the net eight times in the Premier League. Welsh midfielder Harry Wilson also poses a threat as he has managed to grab six so far.
Assists have mainly fallen to former Wolves man, and thorn in City’s side of the past, Adama Traore. The Spaniard has provided seven assist this season, the most in the Fulham side, and weighed in with two goals. Iwobi may be the man to stop though. In addition to his goals, the Nigerian forward has also contributed six assists so far. Among actual midfielders, Andreas Pereira carries the most danger. the Brazilian has created seven big chances, the highest in the side, four of which have been taken.
The Boss
Marco Silva, the former Hull, Watford and Everton boss, is the man leading the Fulham revolution. The Portuguese manager took the reigns in July 2021 and lead Fulham to promotion to the Premier League in his first season.
His stay at Fulham is his longest in English football. He lasted four months and 22 matches at Hull, eight months and 26 matches at Watford and 19 months and 60 matches at Everton. So far, Silva has overseen 183 matches with Fulham< winning 81 and losing 62, giving him a win ratio of 44%.
Last Time Out
In October, City secured a narrow 3-2 victory over the Cottagers at the Etihad Stadium. A double from Mateo Kovacic and a late goal from Jeremy Doku gave City a 3-1 lead after Pereira had opened the scoring. A goal two minutes from normal time by Muniz made it an uncomfortable last few minutes for the Faithful, but City held on.
Our last visit to Craven Cottage was a little easier. Josko Gvardiol had give the blues a 13th minute lead and further goals by Phil Foden, Gvardiol again and a last minute penalty by Julian Alvarez secured a 4-0 victory.
The Faithful would be happy with a similar scoreline on Sunday.