Fulham couldn’t have picked a tougher assignment after the interval break if they had tried. Arsenal arrive at Craven Cottage for tonight’s televised London derby top of the table and looking every inch the title contenders they have hoped to be in the last few seasons. If facing a Mikel Arteta side full of belief wasn’t tricky enough, the Whites will have to conquer their post international break hoodoo whilst battling a crippling injury list that could once again see them start a Premier League fixture without a recognised striker, their first choice full backs and Sasa Lukic, with the Serbian midfielder likely to be out of action until the start of November.

Marco Silva’s combative demeanour in Friday’s press conference when a journalist asked him about Arsenal’s own injury list was well merited. The Fulham head coach has a history of being candid in front of the media and, whilst he was positive about how the Whites have become more competitive in this fixture since their return to the top flight, there was no doubting the plain facts that Fulham’s injury crisis has only worsened over the international break. Fulham will make a late decision on whether Kenny Tete can start, worryingly Antonee Robinson seems unable to train despite having flown over 6,000 miles to join the United States in their latest round of pre-match friendlies and Rodrigo Muniz has also been ruled out.

The international break certainly wasn’t kind to the Fulham faithful. We all watched Samuel Chukwueze breathe new life into Nigeria’s flagging World Cup hopes with a peerless pair of assists and then saw him fail to re-appear for the second half. The winger, who brilliantly set up Ryan Sessegnon’s opening goal in the false dawn during that Bournemouth monsoon, had probably played his way into Silva’s starting line-up so that setback is ill-timed. He is rated as likely to be unavailable and Silva might well act with caution as the last thing you would want is for the AC Milan loanee to miss a significant period of action like some of his team-mates.

We understand that both Raul Jimenez will join Tete in having a late fitness test – and, in the absence of Muniz and Jonah Kusi-Asare not considered ready to make a Premier League debut, it is impossible to overstate the importance of the Mexican veteran being able to the line. Jimenez has an excellent recent record against the Gunners, having been outstanding in last season’s 1-1 draw at the Cottage, and has been badly missed since limping out of the game at Aston Villa earlier this month, only a matter of minutes after heading Silva’s side into the lead. The Fulham boss has proven able to mix and match and make his side adaptable in so many ways since the Whites returned to the Premier League, but nobody will be looking forward to another afternoon with a false nine up front – especially against one of the division’s strongest sides.

Fulham badly need a focal point if only to give Bernd Leno and his defenders a more direct option to beat Arteta’s high press – which has proven to be one of the most effective in England. Adama Traore isn’t a like for like replacement and, although the Whites came remarkably close to pinching the points without a centre forward at the Vitality Stadium before Bournemouth’s brilliant late comeback, you can’t see that approach succeeding against a side in such a rich vein of form. Arsenal have only dropped points in a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and will bring a variety of goal threats into this game as well as England’s most miserly defence – having conceded only three goals to date. This would have been a seriously stiff test without the added complication of all those injury worries.

Arteta does have some selection dilemmas of his own, but as Silva suggested, the potential alternatives hint at how the Gunners possess so much more strength in depth than in previous seasons. Martin Odegaard will be a big miss given how integral the Norwegian midfielder has been to Arsenal’s fortunes in recent years, but former Fulham academy asset Ebere Eze – who has a history of starring at Craven Cottage – can step in. Victor Gyorkeres is a more conventional striker than the injured Kai Havertz and, although the Swede hasn’t yet hit the heights with his new club, he has torn Fulham apart as a Coventry City centre forward. Noni Madueke might be missing too, but a fit-again Bukayo Saka certainly isn’t a bad replacement. Arsenal are also boosted by the potential returns of Ben White and Martin Zubimendi, even if this fixture is likely to come too early for Piero Hincapie.

Fulham have been good at home this season and will need to be at their very best to get any sort of result this evening. A sold out crowd will need to play their part today. We’ve seen the Whites spring a surprise before – most notably when Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s wonderful winner fatally undermined Arsenal’s title challenge on an afternoon when Joao Palhinha celebrated that superb tackle on Saka so passionately in front of the Putney End. Fulham might be without some of their stellar names, but they will be motivated to bounce back from the double disappointment of those dismal defeats by Villa and Bournemouth. What better way to do it than flipping the form book upside down against adversity this evening?

MY FULHAM XI (4-3-3): Leno; Castagne, R. Sessegnon, Andersen, Bassey; Berge, Iwobi, King; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Kevin. Subs: Lecomte, Diop, Cuenca, Reed, Cairney, Traore, Chukwueze, Kusi-Asare, Jimenez.