The Belgian international joined the Club last week and was on the bench for our 2-1 victory over Sheffield United, although he wasn’t called into action at Bramall Lane.
He’s joined in the starting XI by Phil Foden and Manuel Akanji, with Josko Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva among the substitutes, while Jack Grealish misses out through injury in the other switch from last weekend.
Foden, who has enjoyed a scintillating start to the campaign, played a major role in our late winner against the Blades last time out and has been deemed fit enough to start proceedings at the Etihad alongside Akanji, who Lillo admitted was only ruled out last week as a precautionary measure.
Newest recruit Matheus Nunes, who joined City from fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on deadline day, is also on the bench this afternoon.
Teams
City XI: Ederson, Walker (C), Dias, Akanji, Ake, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Foden, Doku, Alvarez, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Phillips, Bernardo, Gómez, Gvardiol, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis.
Fulham XI: Leno, Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Cairney (C), Wilson, Pereira, De Cordova-Reid, Jimenz
Subs: Rodak, Bassey, Castagne, Francois, Adama, Willian, Muniz, Vinicius, Harris.
Tactics
It’s expected that City will line up in our usual 4-3-3 formation but, given the fluidity of the side, that’s sure to adapt to the demands of the afternoon as the game progresses.
Ederson starts between the sticks, shielded by a back four of Walker, Dias, Akanji and Ake.
Rodrigo will sit in front of the back line in his usual position, with Kovacic and Foden expected to complete the midfield three.
At the sharp end, Doku and Alvarez will provide support for centre-forward Haaland.
Doku debut delight
Having been an unused substitute last weekend, Doku has an opportunity to showcase his talents from the get-go against Fulham this afternoon.
A dynamic winger with pace and excellent dribbling ability, the Belgian international offers a new dimension to the City attack, and will be keen to make an impact as we aim to extend our 100% start to the campaign.
Should he start on the right, then Walker will provide the perfect foil for Doku, with his pace either on the overlap or in central positions dragging defenders out of position and allowing the winger to exploit the space in behind.
Another Haaland milestone?
Erling Haaland once again stands on the cusp of yet another record should he find the net this afternoon.
The Norwegian is one goal shy of reaching 40 in the Premier League, a figure he’ll have reached in just 39 appearances.
That would be six quicker than the previous record holder, Alan Shearer, and cap off a remarkable seven days in which he grabbed a goal against Sheffield United and was named both PFA Player of the Year and UEFA Men’s Footballer of the Year.
Haaland scored home and away against Fulham in this fixture last season, both from the penalty spot. Could he repeat the trick this afternoon and once again make Premier League history?
Nunes to feature?
Could fans also be treated to Matheus Nunes‘ City bow this afternoon?
The midfielder joins from Wolves, where he gained plaudits for his energy, industry and creativity under Julen Lopetegui.
Given those qualities, it’s easy to see why City were keen to secure his services, with Lillo adding that he can add a fresh impetus to the squad in his pre-match press conference.
Our assistant coach revealed that Nunes wasn’t involved in training yesterday, but he makes the bench this afternoon.
If he’s required to come on, he’s bound to make an important contribution.
Match stats
Head-to-head
- Manchester City have won their last 14 meetings with Fulham in all competitions – among Premier League/Football League clubs in competitive English football history, only City themselves have had a longer winning run against an opponent (15 against Watford).
- After winning back-to-back matches at the Etihad in April 2008/April 2009, Fulham are winless in their last 12 visits to Man City in all competitions (D2 L10). They’ve lost the last nine in a row by an aggregate score of 27-2.
Manchester City
- Manchester City are looking to win their opening four matches in a top-flight season for the eighth time and the first since 2016-17. They have only gone on to win the title on one of those previous seven occasions, however, doing so in 2011-12 under Roberto Mancini.
- Manchester City had the first 23 shots at goal in their 2-1 win at Sheffield United, the longest consecutive run of efforts at goal by a team in a Premier League match since Newcastle vs Leicester in May (also 23) and the joint longest by an away team that Opta has on record since 2006-07, with City themselves having all 23 efforts against Bournemouth in March 2019.
- Only Pascal Gross (14) has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Man City’s Julián Álvarez (12). Four of those have been for Erling Haaland, with the Norwegian setting up Álvarez three times – those seven chances created between Haaland and Álvarez are the most by a Premier League duo so far this season.
Fulham
- Fulham have seen a player sent off in each of their last two Premier League games (Tim Ream vs Brentford, Calvin Bassey vs Arsenal), one more than in the entirety of last season. Despite having the joint most red cards this season (2), only Man City (23) have conceded fewer fouls than Fulham (24) among teams to play three games so far this season.
- Fulham are winless in their last 30 Premier League matches against the two Manchester clubs (D5 L25) since a 3-0 win over Manchester United in 2009. This is the longest ever winless league run by a team against United and City in Football League history.
- Fulham’s Harrison Reed has three assists in his last seven Premier League appearances, having only assisted four goals in his first 81 games in the competition with Southampton and the Cottagers.
