Both seeking their first Premier League maximum of 2024, Fulham welcome Bournemouth to their Craven Cottage base on Saturday afternoon.
Marco Silva's men threw away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Burnley last weekend, while the Cherries were also pegged back in a 1-1 stalemate with Nottingham Forest.
Match preview
© Reuters
Still without a Premier League victory since the turn of the year, Fulham were only 20 minutes away from clinching their maiden top-flight success of 2024 last weekend, where Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz propelled the Cottagers into a two-goal lead at Turf Moor.
Burnley were seemingly condemned to an all-too familiar home defeat, but an inspired substitution from Vincent Kompany saw Chelsea-owned David Datro Fofana bag a brace in the final 20 minutes, and while he may not have known much about his second goal on the day, it did not diminish the importance of the strike.
Since a slender 1-0 beating of Rotherham United in the FA Cup, Fulham's efforts to pick up another victory have seen Silva's men play out a trio of draws and suffer a trio of defeats, and their 13th-placed position in the rankings could become more precarious without an immediate upturn in fortunes.
Only seven points separate the Cottagers from 18th-placed Everton in the drop zone, although by netting twice against the Clarets last weekend, Fulham matched their goalscoring tally from their previous six league fixtures, where Arsenal were the only team that they did not draw a blank against.
Furthermore, nineteen of Fulham's 26 points in the 2023-24 Premier League season have been won at Craven Cottage, where they have taken 14 from the last 18 on offer, and Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth powers may be waning slightly.
© Reuters
As is the case with their upcoming hosts, Bournemouth have not revelled in a Premier League triumph since the end of 2023, and the Cherries' winless run in the top flight stretched to four games during the visit of Nottingham Forest to the Vitality Stadium last weekend.
Akin to their previous stalemate with West Ham United on February 1, the Cherries drew first blood early doors as Justin Kluivert poked home at the back stick from a corner, but a sublime curler from Callum Hudson-Odoi - who was then the victim of a red card-worthy challenge from Philip Billing - saw the Reds head home with a slice of the spoils.
A nervy final 15 minutes were in store for the home crowd when Billing was given his marching orders, but neither side's performance truly merited a three-point haul, and Bournemouth's previous festive joy has slowly evaporated on account of taking just two points from the last 12 on offer.
From winning six games out of seven between November 11 and Boxing Day, a four-game sequence without a triumph has seen Bournemouth's purple patch well and truly wear off, and the Cherries sit just one place and one point above Fulham in 12th spot, albeit with a match in hand.
Finding the net in 10 of their 11 Premier League away games this season is one confidence-boosting statistic for the Cherries to boast, and the visitors have also come up trumps in both of their last two contests with Fulham, whose most recent win against Bournemouth came in April 2019 thanks to an Aleksandar Mitrovic spot kick.
Team News
© Reuters
Fulham welcomed defender Fode Ballo-Toure back to the matchday squad at Turf Moor, but Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina remain on Africa Cup of Nations duty as Nigeria square off with Ivory Coast in this weekend's tantalising final.
Raul Jimenez (thigh) has been joined on the sidelines by Kenny Tete (Achilles), and Saturday's game is also expected to come too soon for Issa Diop (hamstring), but Adama Traore (hamstring) and Harry Wilson (shoulder) could return.
With Fulham producing the goods for 70 minutes of their clash with Burnley, Silva may see no reason to tinker with his starting XI too much, and Muniz's first-half strike could be enough to keep Chelsea-owned Armando Broja waiting for his full debut.
Fulham were not the only side to add to their attacking ranks on deadline day, as Bournemouth poached Enes Unal on loan from Getafe, but the Turkey international's Visa did not arrive in time for him to make his debut against Nottingham Forest.
However, Unal has now touched down in England and is expected to be available this weekend, which is more than can be said for the suspended Billing, but Iraola confirmed that Antoine Semenyo's half-time substitution last weekend was tactical in nature.
Ryan Christie should also be good to go again despite being forced off with a dead leg in that draw, but James Hill (ankle), Tyler Adams (thigh), Ryan Fredericks (calf), Max Aarons (thigh) and Darren Randolph (illness) remain out of contention.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Muniz
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Scott, Cook; Tavernier, Kluivert, Sinisterra; Solanke
We say: Fulham 2-1 Bournemouth
No team has failed to score in as many as Fulham's 10 Premier League matches this season, but in each of the last six games where Silva's men have made the net bulge, they have struck multiple goals in all of them.
Such a streak should continue at a ground where they have come good more often than not in recent weeks, and with Bournemouth losing their golden touch under Iraola, it is the Cottagers who should be celebrating their maiden Premier League success of 2024 and their first beating of the Cherries in almost five years.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
