Marco Silva was unequivocal on Thursday in stating that this afternoon’s trip to Anfield will represent Fulham’s toughest test of the season. Liverpool have been reinvigorated by the arrival of Arne Slot and sit comfortably top of the Premier League table, having mustered 35 points from their first fourteen games and look impregnable at home. But the Whites have at least travelled to Merseyside in good heart after holding Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to creditable draws either side of beating an in-form Brighton and Hove Albion at Craven Cottage.
Liverpool looked a little laboured against Girona in the Champions’ League on Tuesday night, but they still recorded a sixth win out of six in the league stage to top that table too, and have also reached the League Cup quarter finals. The Reds boast a formidable squad packed with international talent, with the likes of Luis Diaz, Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez set to pose a serious threat to a Fulham rearguard that remains impacted by injuries and suspensions.
Slot could be boosted by the return of winger Federico Chiesa, left back Kostas Tsimikas and the devastating Diogo Jota from injury, but Liverpool will definitely be without the sidelined Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley whilst Alexis Mac Allister will serve his one-match suspension for five bookings after the postponement of the Merseyside derby last weekend due to Storm Darragh. Liverpool’s commanding lead at the top of the table only grew despite them being without a league fixture as Arsenal and Manchester City both dropped points and they will be eager to record another victory today.
Silva spoke convincingly about Fulham coming to Anfield with confidence having pushed Liverpool close in recent seasons. They were only beaten by a Salah penalty two seasons ago when an impressive performance saw them punished for failing to take a number of presentable opportunities and, of course, narrowly went out of the League Cup to the Reds after two tight semi-final ties. The Whites were particularly adventurous in the first leg of that semi-final last year – but it remains to be seen whether Silva will be quite as defensive as against the Gunners last Sunday.
Fulham successfully nullified the likes of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard for much of the ninety minutes, but Silva was critical of his side’s inability to retain possession even if they resisted waves of Arsenal pressure following William Saliba’s equaliser early in the second half. The hosts did score a fine opener after Raul Jimenez rifled home after a sumptuous 21-pass move but that sort of fluency was few and far between for the rest of an encounter that relied on the concentration of Sasa Lukic and Sander Berge in midfield rather than the creativity that is normally associated with Silva’s stylish side.
The blueprint for success will likely be similar this afternoon with the Whites looking to hit Liverpool on the counter attack as they did successfully last season in a seven-goal thriller. Silva could set up slightly differently from his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, especially as the outstanding Alex Iwobi scored twice from a more central position in the win over Brighton. The Cottagers will need to be more combative in the central areas, with Iwobi’s versatility meaning that the Nigerian international – rejuvenated by his Silva following a largely disappointing spell on the blue half of Merseyside – could fill a number of roles. Harry Wilson, a scorer at Anfield last season, will also be eager to feature against his former employers.
Fulham might have a bit more room to operate and time on the ball than against Arsenal if things go to plan, which sets up an interesting dilemma for the head coach in the number ten position. It may be that Silva opts for a more disciplined game plan – and the only Premier League game that Emile Smith Rowe has failed to start since moving to Craven Cottage this summer was the one where the Whites almost embarrassed Manchester City at the Etihad in October. Andreas Pereira came off the bench to good affect against Arsenal last weekend and could be another option to operate just in front of Lukic and Berge, who has been brilliant in recent weeks. That might provide a clue as to whether the Brazilian is likely to stick around in January after his rather public flirtation with a move away from Craven Cottage.
The Whites will have to make a change in central defence after Calvin Bassey picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign last weekend. With Joachim Andersen still recovering from the calf injury he picked up in the home defeat by Wolves last month, that means that Jorge Cuenca is likely to make his first Premier League start since a summer move from Villarreal alongside Issa Diop, who has been outstanding since replacing Andersen in the starting line-up. You sense that those two will be kept very busy this afternoon.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Diop, Cuenca; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, Iwobi, Smith Rowe; Jimenez. Subs: Benda, Castagne, Amissah, R. Sessegnon, King, Pereira, Traore, Muniz, Vinicius.
