After a 2-1 win at Wolves on Sunday and Wimbledon to come next Tuesday in the Carabao Cup, this weekend’s trip to Fulham marks the second of three straight away games for Eddie Howe’s Mags.
We’re yet to reach anywhere near top gear, yet we sit third in the Premier League on 10 points after three wins and a draw from our opening four games.
Believe it or not, we could go top on Saturday night with a win, as top of the pile Man City and second place Arsenal don’t meet until Sunday. No one will be getting carried away if we do, but another victory and 13 points from a possible 15 would be some start and would set us up nicely before we welcome Pep Guardiola’s Champions to St James’ Park next weekend.
Eddie Howe’s pre-match comments
When asked if things are close to clicking from a performance point of view, Howe said: “Hopefully very close. There are a lot of games when you’re not in ‘fifth gear’ or whatever bracket you put it in, but you can still win games in third and fourth, and that’s what we didn’t do well enough last year.
“It’s very rare that you get into those moments where everything is going your way, and that’s what we’re looking for and of course there has to be improvements to key aspects of our game.”
“I see a really motivated team, a motivated squad, that want to do something really special this year. The commitment to our training has been very good.”
Team news
A late call will be made on Alexander Isak (toe/eye) and Callum Wilson won’t be back training until October’s international break. The Mail’s Craig Hope reported yesterday that there’s hope (pardon the pun) that he may be able to manage the issue and play.
Lewis Miley (foot) is still a “long way off”, while Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles remain months away as they recover from ACL surgery.
Predicted XI: Pope – Livramento, Schar, Burn, Kelly – Tonali, Bruno, Willock – Gordon, Isak, Barnes.
I think Howe will…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/09/20/fulham-a-pre-match-thoughts-team-news-possible-line-up-and-prediction/
Author : Olly Hawkins
Publish date : 2024-09-20 15:10:12
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