Fulham will host Bournemouth with both teams looking for their first win of 2024 in the Premier League. Last weekend, Marco Silva’s team let a two-goal lead slip away in a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Burnley, while the Cherries were also held to a 1-1 tie with Nottingham Forest.
Preview (Fulham vs. Bournemouth)
Fulham hasn’t won a Premier League game since the year’s beginning. They were just 20 minutes away from becoming the first team to win in 2024 last weekend. Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz gave the Cottagers a two-goal lead at Turf Moor. Burnley looked destined for an all too familiar home loss until Chelsea’s David Datro Fofana scored twice in the last 20 minutes thanks to an inspired substitution by Vincent Kompany. Fofana may not have been aware of his second goal of the game. It did not lessen the significance of the strike.
In addition, Fulham has won 19 of the 26 points they have earned in the 2023–24 Premier League season at Craven Cottage, where they have claimed 14 of the last 18 points available, suggesting that Antonio Iraola’s influence at Bournemouth may be diminishing a little. Bournemouth, like its forthcoming guests, has not experienced Premier League victory since the end of 2023. The Cherries’ winless streak in the league reached four games when Nottingham Forest visited the Vitality Stadium last week.
Similar to their 1-1 draw with West Ham United on February 1, the Cherries took the lead. Justin Kluivert poked home at the back stick from a corner. However, the Reds took home a portion of the spoils after a brilliant curler from Callum Hudson-Odoi. He was then the target of a challenge that earned Philip Billing a red card. However, neither team’s play deserved a three-point victory, and Bournemouth’s earlier Christmas cheer has gradually faded as a result of taking just two of the final 12 points that were available.
Team News
Defender Folate Ballo-Toure was welcomed back to Fulham’s matchday roster at Turf Moor. Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina are still serving their countries in the Africa Cup of Nations. Nigeria and Ivory Coast will play this weekend’s thrilling final. Issa Diop (hamstring) is also anticipated to miss Saturday’s game due to injury. Neither Raul Jimenez (thigh) nor Harry Wilson (shoulder) will be back for a few weeks. However, Adama Traore might eventually return from a similar problem.
Silva would not feel the need to make many changes to his starting lineup after Fulham outperformed Burnley for the opening 70 minutes of the match. On deadline day, Bournemouth acquired Enes Unal on loan from Getafe. It meant Fulham was not the only team bolstering their forward lineup. However, Unal’s Visa did not arrive in time for him to make his Nottingham Forest debut.
Though Iraola acknowledged that Antoine Semenyo’s half-time substitution last weekend was tactical, Unal has now arrived in England and is anticipated to be available this weekend—more than can be said for the suspended Billing. However, Darren Randolph (illness), James Hill (ankle), Tyler Adams (thigh), Ryan Fredericks (calf), and Max Aarons (thigh) are also out of the running.
Fulham 2-1 Bournemouth
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