Fulham welcome Crystal Palace to Craven Cottage in a cross-London derby in Premier League.
Victory would lift Fulham out of the relegation zone whilst Palace could climb as high as third with a win depending on results earlier in weekend and a decent winning margin over the Cottagers.
Team News
Harrison Reed is set to be available for Fulham after recovering from a knock which had sidelined him in recent weeks.
Joachim Andersen (ankle), Kenny Tete (calf), Terence Kongolo (foot) and Joshua Onomah (undisclosed) are sidelined indefinitely.
Palace will once again be without Jordan Ayew due to a positive Coronavirus test ahead of last weekend’s draw against Brighton.
James Tomkins (thigh) could feature if fully fit but Conor Wickham, Wayne Hennessey (both unspecified), James McCarthy (thigh), Nathan Ferguson (knee) and Gary Cahill (shin) are ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Fulham have drawn one of their last five meetings against Crystal Palace (W2 D1, L2).
- Palace have won just one of their last five visits to Craven Cottage (W1, D1, L3).
- Fulham are yet to be awarded a penalty against Palace after six previous Premier League meetings between these two teams.
- No Palace player has suffered more fouls in their five matches so far than Andros Townsend, who has found himself fouled 11 times.
- Coming into this weekend, no goalkeeper has produced more high claims than the seven made by Fulham’s Alphonse Areola.
Prediction
Fulham finally showed what they can do if defend properly and play with tighter attacking intent in last weekend’s draw at Sheffield United but will need to be wary here, given Palace’s wing quality in Townsend and Wilfried Zaha who will create trouble with their pace when given a chance.
Palace therefore would be my tip if they can find their best play and crack open Fulham’s defence but if the Cottagers stand firm then this should be a good game for the neutrals, although I am going for a Palace win because they do seem to possess that extra quality up front which could be the difference here.
Prediction: Fulham 0-1 Crystal Palace
Result: Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace
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