Preview: Arsenal vs Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to temporarily re-establish a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, Arsenal welcome Fulham to the Emirates for Saturday evening's London derby.

Mikel Arteta's men return home after a creditable 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, while their visitors scraped a 1-0 success over Mikel Arteta's predecessor last weekend, edging out Aston Villa on home soil.

Match preview

Paris Saint-Germain might have been able to postpone their league game in between their two UCL quarter-final clashes with Liverpool, as Ligue 1 sought to give the holders the best possible chance of progression, but Premier League teams are not afforded such a luxury.

Therefore, Arsenal must pit their wits against Fulham fewer than 72 hours on from a fiery stalemate with Atletico Madrid, who gave away a penalty for Viktor Gyokeres to convert, won one of their own for Julian Alvarez to hammer home, and escaped conceding another for a David Hancko 'foul' on Eberechi Eze.

A "fuming" Arteta did not hold his tongue when discussing the latter incident, but Arsenal are nevertheless in a favourable position ahead of next week's second leg, having equalled an all-time club record in the Spanish capital.

Back to domestic matters, Arsenal stopped the Premier League rot with a classic unconvincing 1-0 win vs. Newcastle United last weekend, snapping a run of four straight losses across league, FA Cup and EFL Cup action and moving three points clear of Manchester City in the process.

Arteta's men can now open up a six-point gap at the summit of the Premier League table, as the Sky Blues do not play again until Monday night against Everton, and their astounding record of just 11 goals conceded at the Emirates in the 2025-26 top flight makes for worrying reading for their goal-shy visitors.

A few hours before Arsenal's nervy one-goal victory last weekend, Fulham snapped their scoreless sequence courtesy of an identical triumph at home to Aston Villa, by virtue of Ryan Sessegnon's first-half strike.

Marco Silva's men had failed to fire in a 2-0 loss to Liverpool and goalless draw with Brentford prior to the visit of the Villans, but the Cottagers are now at least somewhat back among the goals amid a particularly trying attacking period.

Indeed, Fulham have only found the back of the net in two of their last seven games in all competitions - netting a mere four goals in that time - to slip down to 10th in the standings, albeit just two points below sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

European sojourns are therefore still not out of the question for the away side, but whether they would compete on the continent under Silva is a different matter, as the Portuguese is thought to be one of the top contenders for the vacant Chelsea job.

For now, Silva is simply striving to end Fulham's three-game winless and scoreless run on the road, while also bidding for a Cottagers club first; the visitors have never won a Premier League away match against the team starting that day at the top of the table.

The unpleasant statistics keep on coming for Fulham fans, as Arsenal have not lost any of their previous 32 league home games against the Cottagers - the most one team have ever gone without defeat to a single opponent in English football history.

Arsenal Premier League form:

Arsenal form (all competitions):

Fulham Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

Team News

Arsenal's Newcastle triumph did not come without sacrifice, as Eze and Kai Havertz both sustained muscular injuries; the former shook off his problem quickly to be involved on Wednesday, but Havertz was missing and is a major doubt for the weekend.

Arteta also suggested in his pre-Atletico press conference that Jurrien Timber (groin) was still some way away from being fully fit again, while Mikel Merino (foot) is still battling to return before the season finishes.

In brighter news, Riccardo Calafiori was an unused substitute on Wednesday after recovering from a knock, and the Italian could be promoted to the XI alongside the returning Bukayo Saka and Eze, both restricted to cameo roles at the Metropolitano.

On Fulham's side, Sessegnon's match-winning procession came to a premature end when he was forced off injured in the second half, but Silva is keeping his fingers crossed that the former Tottenham Hotspur man escaped serious injury.

However, Hale End product Alex Iwobi will not be reuniting with his boyhood club due to a thigh problem, while Kenny Tete and Kevin are both working their way back from ankle issues too.

Antonee Robinson is on standby in case Sessegnon is ruled out, while Bernd Leno and Emile Smith Rowe should start at their erstwhile home.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze; Jimenez

We say: Arsenal 1-0 Fulham

Arsenal away has historically been a fruitless day for Fulham, and given the Cottagers' shortcomings in front of goal, that streak will almost certainly continue.

As was the case against Newcastle, Arteta's jaded men may only need one moment of magic - or one set-piece - to get the job done, and warm up for their Atletico reunion in ideal fashion.

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