Preview:Fulham vs Al Ittihad - prediction, team news, lineups

Fulham and Al Ittihad will both continue their pre-season preparations ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 campaign when they meet in a friendly match on Wednesday.

The Cottagers defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 in their opening friendly encounter, while the Tigers have lost to both Fenerbahce and Vitoria in their two fixtures.

Match preview

Fulham have established themselves as a comfortable mid-table team in the Premier League since returning to the division by winning the Championship in 2021-22.

The Cottagers finished 10th in 2022-23, 13th in 2023-24 and 11th in 2024-25, and Marco Silva will now be looking to lead the team into European competition next term.

Fulham amassed 54 points from their 38 fixtures last term and were in the battle for a European place for large durations of the campaign before suffering a disappointing end to the term.

Silva's side lost seven of their final 11 Premier League fixtures, alongside just four victories, meaning they eventually finished 11 points behind seventh-placed Nottingham Forest.

Aiming for a positive pre-season to build a foundation for their European push next campaign, Fulham defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 in their opening friendly fixture and will be hoping for a second consecutive win here.

Al Ittihad appear to be challenging competitors on paper, but the Tigers are heading into this friendly match having lost their two pre-season fixtures thus far.

The Tigers were defeated 4-0 by Fenerbahce in their opening friendly encounter, followed by a 3-1 loss to Vitoria in their latest match, marking a significant downturn in form compared to their title winning 2024-25 campaign.

Al Ittihad lifted their second league title in three years and 10th overall last season as they finished a comfortable eight points ahead of second-placed Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.

Laurent Blanc, in charge since July 2024, will be hoping to build on that title triumph in the upcoming 2025-26 season, but a disappointing pre-season to date will be dampening their confidence.

Fulham Club Friendlies 1 form:

Al Ittihad Club Friendlies 1 form:

Team News

Timothy Castagne missed Fulham's last three matches of the Premier League season due to an ankle injury, but the defender returned to action in the second half of their first friendly game and could feature from the start here.

Elsewhere, new signing Benjamin Lecomte could be awarded his first start between the sticks, with Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey potentially starting in central defence.

As for Al Ittihad, Moussa Diaby is the only player to have scored for the Saudi Arabian champions during pre-season, and the winger should start again on Wednesday.

Fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema may also start as the central striker, while Steven Bergwijn and Unai Hernandez could make up the final two attackers.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Lecomte; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Berge, King; Wilson, Cairney, Smith Rowe; Muniz

Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:

Al-Shanqiti; Al-Mousa, Pereira, Sharahili, Rodriguez; Kante, Fabinho; Diaby, Hernandez, Bergwijn; Benzema

We say: Fulham 2-1 Al Ittihad

The Tigers may be the stronger team on paper but Fulham have enjoyed a far stronger start to their pre-season preparations than Al Ittihad, leading us to expect a win for the Cottagers.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.