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

Still harbouring aspirations of qualifying for Europe, Fulham welcome relegation-threatened Burnley to Craven Cottage for a Premier League clash on Saturday afternoon.

Marco Silva’s side will endeavour to complete their first league double over the Clarets since 1950-51 after securing a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor in December.

Match preview

After finishing 11th in the Premier League table last season, Fulham find themselves in the exact same position after 30 games this term, with 41 points notched up after recording 12 wins, a division-low five draws, and 13 defeats.

The Cottagers are looking to end a three-match winless run in all competitions. After back-to-back 1-0 home defeats to West Ham and Southampton (FA Cup), they played out a goalless stalemate with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last weekend, registering just one shot on target from six attempts.

Fulham have recently lost their clinical in front of goal and Marco Silva’s side last went three Premier League matches without a goal in December 2023, a run which included a 2-0 home defeat to this weekend’s opponents Burnley.

The West London club should take comfort from having lost only one of their last 14 Premier League encounters with promoted sides (W8 D5), suffering a 1-0 defeat at Leeds in January, while they have accumulated just over 63% of their top-flight points at Craven Cottage this season (26/41).

However, Fulham have only won one of their last five home meetings with Burnley in all competitions, losing each of their last three by an aggregate score of 7-0 since their 4-2 Premier League victory in August 2018.

Since claiming an important 3-2 Premier League victory at Crystal Palace in mid-February, Burnley have failed to win any of their last five matches in all competitions, exiting the FA Cup fifth round to third-tier side Mansfield before recording two draws and two defeats in the top flight.

The Clarets can take positives from holding top-10 sides Chelsea and Bournemouth to draws, playing out a goalless stalemate with the Cherries at Turf Moor last weekend, but Scott Parker’s side are desperate for victories in their quest to pull off the great escape.

With just eight games remaining, Burnley remain 19th in the Premier League and sit eight points adrift of safety. Four of the Clarets’ next five fixtures are against teams currently in the bottom half of the table and failure to capitalise on this run could seal their fate.

A run of three away wins in their last four league visits to Fulham bodes well ahead of Saturday’s contest, while four of their 10 points collected across the last 21 Premier League games have come away against London clubs (three at Palace, one at Chelsea).

Burnley’s defensive record on the road leaves a lot to be desired, though, as they have kept only one clean sheet in their last 41 Premier League away matches, conceding in each of their last 25 since the aforementioned 2-0 victory at Fulham over two years ago.

Fulham Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

Burnley Premier League form:

Burnley form (all competitions):

Team News

Fulham winger Kevin is sidelined long term after undergoing surgery on a foot injury earlier this month, while Emile Smith Rowe (knock) will be assessed after missing the draw with Bournemouth last time out.

If fit, Smith Rowe could battle with Joshua King for a start in the number 10 role behind striker Raul Jimenez who has failed to score in any of his last three appearances against Burnley having previously netted three goals in his first four meetings during his time at Wolves.

Star attacker Harry Wilson - Fulham’s top scorer in the PL this term with nine goals - scored and provided two assists in the 3-2 victory at Burnley in December, and the Welshman is expected to continue on the right wing on Saturday, while January signing Oscar Bobb will hope to fend off competition from Samuel Chukwueze for a place on the left flank.

As for Burnley, Josh Cullen, Zeki Amdouni (both knee), Axel Tuanzebe, Connor Roberts (both Achilles) and Jordan Beyer (hamstring) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Saturday’s game may come too soon for Mike Tresor (ankle), even though he has returned to training.

Maxime Esteve will be assessed after illness prevented him from finishing the game against Bournemouth last time out. If fit, the defender would be expected to start alongside Josh Laurent and Bashir Humphreys in the back three.

Midfield duo Lesley Ugochukwu and Florentino Luis will both be looking to force their way back into the first XI at the expense of James Ward-Prowse and Hannibal Mejbi, while Zian Flemming and Jaidon Anthony - who have scored a team-high seven PL goals this term - are set to continue in attack.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Iwobi; Wilson, King, Bobb; Jimenez

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Humphreys, Laurent, Esteve; Walker, Ugochukwu, Hannibal, Hartman; Anthony, Foster; Flemming

We say: Fulham 2-0 Burnley

Burnley have enjoyed their recent visits to Craven Cottage and should be optimistic about their chances of securing a positive result - ideally a win - against a Fulham outfit that has suffered a slight dip in form.

However, we are expecting a response from Silva’s side this weekend, and a Wilson-inspired team should have enough to come out on top, potentially keeping a clean sheet in the process.

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