Preview: Fulham vs Hull City - prediction, team news, lineups

Still searching for their first Premier League win of the season, basement club Fulham play host to Hull City at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

The two sides lock horns for the first time since January 2023 when the Cottagers secured a 2-0 away victory in the FA Cup third round courtesy of goals from Layvin Kurzawa and Daniel James.

Match preview

The pressure is beginning to mount on Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who has seen his team pick up just two points from their opening six Premier League games this term (D2 L4), dropping points in their last two matches after conceding late goals.

The Cottagers conceded an 89th-minute equaliser in a frustrating 1-1 home draw with fellow strugglers Man United prior to the international break, before letting a one-goal lead slip with only two minutes of normal time remaining to lose 2-1 away against newly-promoted Ipswich last weekend.

Following another “painful” setback for Arbeloa, recent reports have suggested that the Spaniard’s future could be in doubt should Fulham – who sit rock bottom of the table but only two points adrift of safety – fail to win their next two matches against two more promoted clubs in Hull and Coventry City.

Only fellow winless outfit Bournemouth (nine) have dropped more Premier League points from winning positions than Fulham (eight), who are in danger of equalling their worst-ever start to a top-flight campaign in 1951-52 when they failed to win their opening seven matches.

Fulham also head into Saturday’s contest without a win in three home games this term (D1 L2), conceding seven goals in the process, but they have won each of their last four encounters against Hull across all competitions without reply.

Since securing promotion via the Championship playoffs in May last season, Hull City have exceeded expectations and have accumulated nine points from their opening six games; only in 2008-09 under Phil Brown have they ever collected more points at this early stage in a top-flight campaign (11).

Sergej Jakirovic’s side preserved their unbeaten home record last weekend, as they came from behind to draw 2-2 with Everton at the MKM Stadium, a result which has seen the Tigers climb to eighth in the table and crucially six points above the relegation zone.

After keeping three clean sheets in their opening three league matches, Hull’s robust backline has since shipped exactly two goals in each of their last three fixtures, including a 2-1 away defeat to Newcastle prior to the international break, so improvements in defence will be one of Jakirovic’s top priorities.

Although Hull rank 20th for possession (32.3%) and passes per sequence (2.6) in the Premier League this season, their direct approach has worked wonders in the early stages, ranking inside the top four for duel success (53%) and passes played forward (40.1%), while they rank first for passes played long (20.1%) - the highest proportion by a PL team since Sean Dyche's Burnley in 2021-22.

The Tigers head into Saturday’s match against Fulham with a mixed record across their last five league visits to Craven Cottage (W2 D1 L2); their last victory at the West London club came in November 2019 when they prevailed by a 3-0 scoreline in the Championship.

Fulham Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

Hull City Premier League form:

Hull City form (all competitions):

Team News

Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney will continue to have his fitness monitored, while left-back Antonee Robinson is a doubt after missing the defeat at Ipswich with an ankle issue.

Ryan Sessegnon scored a brilliant long-range goal in Robinson’s absence and could retain his starting spot at left-back, joining Calvin Bassey, David Affengruber and either Kenny Tete or Timothy Castagne in a four-man defence.

Emile Smith Rowe, Hugo Larsson and Cesar Palacios are three midfielders all hoping to force their way into the first XI, but Arbeloa may prefer to persist with Sander Berge, Shea Charles and Joshua King, the latter of whom is set to play in an advanced role behind striker Gonzalo Garcia.

As for Hull, Nobel Mendy is ruled out for two weeks with a groin injury, so 19-year-old Lucas Herrington is likely to deputise in the back three alongside John Egan and Semi Ajayi.

Mohamed-Ali Cho (thigh) and Lucas Gourna-Douath (calf) are also unavailable but could return next week, while Matt Targett (ankle) is ruled out for two months and has joined Eliot Matazo (ACL), Ilyas Ansah (back), Jack Butland (arm), Darko Gyabi (groin) and Charlie Hughes (groin) on the sidelines.

Mohamed Belloumi, who came off the bench to equalise against Everton, has three goals and two assists to his name in six PL appearances this term, and the Algerian playmaker could be recalled at the expense of either Joe Gelhardt or Sorba Thomas.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Tete, Affengruber, Bassey, Sessegnon; Berge, Charles; Bobb, King, Iwobi; Garcia

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Coyle, Ajayi, Egan, Herrington, Giles; Belloumi, Crooks, Slater, Thomas; McBurnie

We say: Fulham 1-2 Hull City

Arbeloa can ill-afford to see his winless Fulham side concede preventable goals and drop further points against newly-promoted opposition if he wishes to alleviate the growing pressure on his shoulders.

However, Jakirovic’s fearless Hull outfit have proven time and again that they can successfully compete at this level, and we feel that the Cottagers could become the latest casualties to be mauled by the Tigers.

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