Fulham will look to finish 2023 in a far more positive fashion this afternoon after two disappointing defeats by Burnley and AFC Bournemouth after the festive period. Marco Silva’s side failed to find the necessary response to a home capitulation to the struggling Clarets when they were well beaten at the Vitality Stadium on Boxing Day – and they now face Arsenal with the Gunners seeking some retribution of their own after Mikel Arteta’s side slumped to a surprise 2-0 defeat at home to West Ham United on Thursday evening.

Arsenal appear well placed to mount another title challenge, having gone close last term and added the former West Ham captain Declan Rice to their midfield. The Gunners gained an important point at Liverpool, but will be looking to bounce back from being beaten by Hammers as they head into another London derby this afternoon. They are unbeaten in their last nine London derbies and have a strong record at Craven Cottage. Arsenal have won all of their last five league visits to the white half of SW6 – scoring three times in their last four outings – and have not lost in eleven meetings with the Cottagers, dating back to January 2012 when Steve Sidwell and Bobby Zamora secured a late comeback win for Martin Jol’s men.

Arteta will be able to reintroduce Kai Havertz into his three-man midfield after the former Chelsea man missed the reverse to West Ham through suspension. He will be without the services of Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Fabio Vieira, although full back Takehiro Tomiyasu has returned to training over the weekend. Fulham will need to show far more tenacity and invention than they have managed in their last two fixtures, with Silva’s side seeming timid, tired and out of ideas both against Vincent Kompany’s outfit and then again at Bournemouth, where they were distinctly second best after a tight start.

The Fulham head coach struck an upbeat tone in his pre-match press conference, instructing his players to take belief from the way they fought to the end to get a point with ten men at the Emirates earlier this season. Attacking midfielder Andreas Pereira has described the previous two results as ‘a wake-up call,’ whilst admitting that he badly needs to improve his own form. Silva will at least be able to call upon the returning Raul Jimenez up front after the Mexican served a three-match suspension for his ill-timed challenge up at Newcastle United. The former Wolves striker will be warmly welcomed back into the starting line-up, as neither Rodrigo Muniz or Carlos Vinicius have posed much of a threat in his absence.

Fulham are still sweating on the fitness of Willian, with the Brazilian veteran having missed the last three games after injuring his hamstring in the 5-0 hammering of West Ham United. The wily winger will be desperate to return against his former employers – and the Whites have looked pedestrian and rather predictable without Willian in their side. A tactical tweak could be in order against one of the top flight’s smartest sides with possession as the two-man central midfield of Joao Palhinha, who has been badly below par of late, and Tom Cairney was easily outfought on Boxing Day. This afternoon may call for the services of Harrison Reed in a more disciplined defensive midfield role to try and disrupt the Gunners’ rhythm. Sasa Lukic had his best game in a Fulham shirt at Arsenal back in August, but was pitiful when he came on late in the proceedings at Bournemouth – so the Serbian will be fortunate to settle for a spot on the bench.

There are also some defensive issues to resolve, even if the personnel is largely looking to remain the same. Bernd Leno, who has been exceptional since moving across London eighteen months ago, endured two poor outings and took out his frustration on a Bournemouth ball boy five days ago. The German will be keen to prove his point to Arteta again and there will need to be a bit more cohesion in front of him. Both Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson were off colour in the defeat at the Vitality Stadium, whilst the Whites were far too easy to play through from the outset – as evidenced by Alex Scott’s run from halfway line for the Cherries’ opening goal just before half time. Any hint of a repeat and this could be a very long afternoon.

MY FULHAM XI (4-3-3): Leno; Castagne, A. Robinson, Diop, Bassey; Palhinha, Reed, Cairney; Willian, Wilson, Jimenez. Subs: Rodak, Tete, Ballo-Toure, Adarabioyo, Lukic, Andreas, De Cordova-Reid, Harris, Vinicius.