Fulham vs. Arsenal: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

This will be a stiff test for the Gunners against a strong Fulham side. Despite that, though, Arsenal are on fire, with Arteta's side having won their last four on the bounce, scoring 15 and conceding just three. Fulham are in decent form, but in their last four home games they've lost 1-4 to Wolves and 1-3 to Aston Villa, so there's a clear vulnerability.

Additionally, Fulham have won only one of their last 12 head-to-head meetings with Arsenal. Fulham have seen both sides find the back of the net in all of their last five on home soil, while Arsenal have seen BTTS occur in three of their last five on the road. Fulham 1-2 Arsenal.

The Premier League title race is starting to hot up and is resumes this weekend, with Arsenal playing their part away at fellow London club Fulham.

• Date: 08/12/2024
• Kick-off time: 14:00
• Location: Craven Cottage, London

Fulham are currently 6th in the Premier League with 22 points from 14 games. The Cottagers are enjoying their best season in recent memory, and can now start to realistically think about the prospect of European football next season. Under Marco Silva, Fulham are one of the best-performing sides in the league, currently ranking 7th in the league for expected goals (1.55xG per game) while ranking 4th in the league for expected goals against - 1.27xGA per game. Put simply, the underlying numbers surrounding the Cottager's season are really strong and suggest there's a good chance they're going to sustain their form.

Alex Iwobi has been a huge part of Fulham's success in the early part of the season, scoring five goals and recording three assists in the league. Iwobi is performing at a career-high level, and if Raúl Jiménez, who has four league goals to his name, can start to score more consistently, Fulham will be a big problem for the sides around them.

Fulham beat Arsenal at Craven Cottage when the two sides met last season and if they can repeat those heroics here, everyone involved with the club would be on cloud nine.

Arsenal are currently sit 3rd in the Premier League with 28 points from 14 games. The Gunners have had a fairly stop-start first few months of the season, but they're now looking to kick on and launch a serious assault on the Premier League title.

Mikel Arteta has had to contend with a number of injury issues early on which has made consistency difficult, but with most of the squad fit and firing, the time for them to charge up the league table is ripe. The Gunners have really started to ramp up their performance levels in recent weeks and are looking like the title-contending force that many assumed they would be coming into the season.

The return of Martin Ødegaard has been a huge help, with the Norwegian making an immediate impact on the team's creativity levels. Bukayo Saka, despite suffering a few niggling injuries, is also at the top of his game, and comes into this game having recorded five goals and ten assists in the league.

Currently, Arsenal trail Liverpool by seven points, but with Liverpool dropping points in midweek the gap has already closed from where it was last weekend. The title race is looking like it's going to be extremely competitive this year, and if Arsenal don't come out on top this time, their fans will be wondering if their turn is ever going to come again.

This game will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event.

Fulham Team News:

Fulham come into this game without the services of Tom Cairney, who is unavailable through suspension, and Joachim Andersen and Harrison Reed, both of whom are injured.

It's unlikely that many changes will be made to the XI that started against Brighton in the week, but Saša Lukić could come in after serving a one-match suspension, while Raúl Jiménez could also be in line for a recall.

Predicted lineup: Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Lukić, Berge; Wilson, Smith-Rowe, Iwobi; Jiménez.

Arsenal Team News:

Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu both remain out for the Gunners, but they could welcome back a few faces from injury.

Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhães look set to return from knocks that kept them out in midweek, and if fit, both could return straight to the starting lineup.

Predicted lineup: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Ødegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.

Fulham

Fulham are in good form heading into this one with three wins, one draw and one defeat from their last five games. Most recently, Fulham beat Brighton 3-1, with an Alex Iwobi brace and an own goal sealing the three points.

Before that, Fulham drew 1-1 away at Tottenham, with Tom Cairney getting the goal, a result that followed a heavy 1-4 loss at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where despite going 1-0 up, they were subjected to a dominant comeback.

Those results were preceded by a 2-0 win against Fulham, where Emile Smith-Rowe and Harry Wilson scored the goals, and a 2-1 win against Brentford, where Harry Wilson scored a brace.

Arsenal

Arsenal's form is very strong, with the Gunners having won four and drawn one of their last five matches. Last time out, Arsenal faced Manchester United on home soil and ran out 2-0 winners, with Jurriën Timber and William Saliba grabbing the goals.

Before that, the Gunners beat West Ham United 5-2, with Gabriel Magalhães, Leandro Trossard, Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka grabbing the goals, which came after a thumping 5-1 win over Sporting CP, where Gabriel Martinelli, Havertz, Gabriel Magalhães, Saka and Trossard scoring the goals.

Prior to that, goals from Saka, Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri gave them a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, which followed a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

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