Ladies and gents, we’ve made it. The eve of the season. After an Algarve fiasco, transfer promises that never materialised, and a third successive big name loss set to be outgoing, Brighton away comes at a weird time for the football club, but nonetheless, we are here – the Amex is in our sights.
How do Fulham curtail their lineup to Saturday’s tactical setup? Where will Fulham look to exploit the Seagulls? Where will Fulham be exploited? Lets find out rhe keys to victory in tomorrow afternoon’s south coast showdown – all here. Let’s sink our teeth in, shall we?
How Fulham Should Curtail Their Starting XI to Saturday’s Tactical Gameplan?
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Well, it’s not as if Fulham have a flurry of new signings to take to the Amex, do they? Quite far from it – the Whites’ lineup will likely be very similar to our final day clash against Manchester City nearly three months ago.
I know it’s shocking, but sole summer signing Benjamin Lecomte loses out to Bernd Leno, as Tete, Andersen, and Bassey will comprise three quarters of Silva’s stereotypical backline.
A portion of the storyline in the build-up to tomorrow’s game concerns who replaces the recovering Antonee Robinson at full back. Ryan Sessegnon is undergoing a fitness test, leaving Sess’ inclusion from the off, touch and go at best. In turn, who should we expect to see on the left side of the back four?
Who Starts at Left Back?
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I’d expect to see Timothy Castagne at left back. Timmy C has rarely deputised at left-sided full back for Fulham, but Timothy regularly featured for Champions League-chasing Leicester sides on the left side of defence, and he continues to do so for Belgium to this day.
Fulham need a wealth of defensive experience to combat a fluid Brighton attack. Castagne does just that, with an element of reliability, defensive nous, yet attacking ability to make Fulham an assured side in defence, whilst providing some level of offensive ability to provide a threat from both flanks this Saturday. The versatile Castagne rounds out Fulham’s defence.
How Do Fulham Deal With Brighton’s Central Overload?
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Normal service resumes at the base of midfield. Berge and Lukic start. Fulham’s lack of transfer dealing fails them once again, as Silva doesn’t have the luxury of choosing a quality number six to screen the back – a valuable option against a Huerzler side that consistently piles numbers centrally, thanks to inverted wing back Mats Wieffer and Albion’s host of central talent.
A Harrison Reed inclusion wouldn’t surprise me; our tough-tackling ginger rottweiler has value in a fixture like Brighton away where Fulham won’t see much of possession. But despite my hopes of a Sussex homecoming for Harrison Reed, Berge and Lukic start at Fulham’s midfield base. Their abundance of defensive duties will confine Sander and Sasa away from allowing Berge to be the late-arriving eight I’ve wished Berge to be for so long.
In response to Brighton’s play style, the Norwegian’s stature should be utilised to go man to man with Carlos Baleba’s physical tact.
Time to Let The King’s Reign Begin?
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Antonee Robinson and Ryan Sessegnon’s injury concerns, alongside an issue we will soon get onto, have dominated pre-match build-up to Saturday’s Seagull clash, but the question of who starts in Fulham’s ten may well set the stage for Silva’s side’s season.
Josh King, Fulham’s player of pre-season, would be a statement inclusion by Marco Silva. Whispers of Silva not trusting youth can fall by the wayside. Giving King a starting berth at the Amex would be a clear message back to Motspur Park: if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. If you’re as talented as Josh, and work like King has, a pathway into first-team football is there for you. It would affirm King’s ascension into men’s football – deservedly so.
Forget Motspur Park messages and sentimentality – King showed us time and time again this summer that he is Fulham’s best number 10. Josh is the closest thing Marco Silva has to an outfield signing so far this window. The creatively stagnant label levelled at the Whites last campaign will be shunned upon King’s arrival.
Josh makes things happen between the lines, in and out of possession. Simply, JK has to start. A side like Brighton, who don’t deploy an out-and-out six and rely on safety in numbers centrally, provides Josh a terrific opportunity to get between those half spaces and announce himself to global football. With Brighton – Fulham regularly a cagey affair, Fulham could do with the King’s reign starting Saturday.
Reinvigorating Fulham’s Creative Spark: Who Starts Wide to the Nine?
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After a successful pre-season reinducted back into his Arsenal-style left wing role, Emile Smith Rowe’s fresh slate begins from the left on Saturday, in a bid to reignite pre-season form and counteract Mats Wieffer’s frequent inverted inroads. To do so, Smith Rowe will have to be fully fit and back to doing the hustling off the ball we saw in the early portions of last season.
On the opposite wing, Wilson starts. Calling Josh King Fulham’s player of pre-season is harsh on Harry Wilson. The Welshman lit up the Algarve – or what us travelling fans were allowed to see of it anyway – and apparently continues his fine form on home soil.
The talent is unquestionable; when fit, Harry is perhaps Fulham’s most talented forward. How many games where FFC couldn’t break down deep-lying opposition could we have used Harry Wilson’s cutting edge?
I’m expecting a breakout season from Harry this campaign. Brighton away is just the start. Smith Rowe and Wilson start on either flank.
Number Nine: Who Starts?
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The big one. The main talking point around Saturday’s opening PL fixture isn’t seeing a big-money signing in action, or a new Marco tactic deployed – it’s whether our imminently departing developing striker is starting.
Short answer: no. Muniz is off, accept it. Even if he does stay, Raul Jimenez looked as if the Gold Cup had knocked ten years off his age tally against Frankfurt. Raul deserves to start, not only because Marco Silva isn’t blessed with much of a choice – Raul is truly one of the most underrated Fulham strikers of the Premier League era. Jimenez starts up top, oh… and Marco, put him on free kicks whilst you’re at it!
Where Will Brighton Try to Exploit Fulham?
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In Antonee Robinson’s absence, the left back pendulum swings from Fulham’s biggest strength to our most glaring weakness.
The attacking threat posed by the flying Yankuba Minteh, and lingering threat of Georgina Rutter floating out to double up on the right wing, is justification why I wouldn’t start Ryan Sessegnon at left back, no matter his fitness predicament. As I explained in my lineup, Fulham need defensive solidity – the only man who can do so is Timothy Castagne, but he can’t do it alone.
Harry Wilson was in the 80th percentile for blocks and 74th percentile for tackles last season when compared against all wingers and attacking midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.
To keep Brighton at bay, Wilson must continue his impressive defensive attitude.
Central Overload
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Fabian Huerzler sides are renowned for pushing numbers centrally; the South Coasters are no different. Albion primarily line up with three industrious, yet creatively able, number eights starting in the middle of the park. Add to that Mats Wieffer’s deployment as an inverted full back, and Fulham may well get swamped centrally.
Sander and Sasa have to be defensively switched on. The wide men of Smith Rowe and Wilson need to help inside, not just in possession but out of it too. Josh King has to be ready for the trials and tribulations of men’s football. It’s time to get stuck in, Josh! I’d be shocked if Reedy didn’t at least make a substitute appearance, one that hopefully goes better than his last Brighton cameo…
To beat the Amex ambush, it has to be an all-round, dogged, determined team display.
Where Will Fulham Look to Exploit Brighton?
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Think back to past Brighton success – where has Fulham’s triumph stemmed from? From Manor Solomon slamming home to Iwobi swinging a lofted ball into Raul Jimenez, out wide is where Marco Silva’s side will find South Coast success once more.
Albion’s two full backs don’t exactly sit and hold like Kenny Tete. Maxim De Cuyper specialises in attack – De Cuyper netted in Brighton’s pre-season win over Wolfsburg thanks to Fabian Huerzler utilising the Belgian as a flying wing back. Expect much more of the same come Saturday 3 o’clock.
Add De Cuyper’s attacking prowess with Mats Wieffer’s aforementioned tendency to spend most of his time in possession centrally, and you come out with a clear gameplan.
Concise, winger-led breaks could catch out a defensively exposed Brighton wing back duo. Harry and Emile can no doubt inflict some damage, but I expect the substitutes of Ryan Sessegnon on the left, and Adama Traore on the right, to cause Mr Huerzler a serious headache.
Cheers for Reading, See You in Brighton!
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That concludes the first deep dive on our opposition of the 25/26 season. Onwards to Brighton, Lewes, Falmer and beyond. Despite this summer sh\*t show, Fulham’s squad still remains mainly intact. Despite Muniz’s near certain departure, that should fuel some level of calming down of the nerves. It should have been a summer of pushing on, but here we are, ready for an afternoon of soaking up some south coast sun, and likely some Fabian Huerzler pressure.
Ladies and gents, I’ll see you in Brighton, Lewes, or Falmer. You ‘no signing’ Whites!