With thanks to LookMumImOnMCF.net
Match Preview
Last meeting: Fulham 1 – 4 City (21/11/10)
League Form, City: LWDLWD Fulham: DDWLWD
Odds, City: 8/18 Fulham: 7/1 Draw: 16/5
And so it is that on Sunday afternoon, some 14 months after his departure from Eastlands that part-time Red, full-time opinion divider Leslie Mark Hughes returns with a Fulham side that currently sit a point above his former employers in the form table.
In November last year
the first half of the reverse fixture was, arguably, the best 45 minutes of football City have played this season. The game was over in the 35th minute when Yaya Toure finished coolly and, for a brief moment, Fulham’s woeful efforts were the only thing in the foolballing world making Roy Hodgson look like a decent manager. Since then Fulham have turned the proverbial corner and dragged themselves to 13th. It’s not yet know whether 13th is in line with Hughes’s current planned trajectory.
Lippy: Hughes
It will come as no shock to the City faithful that Hughes’s Fulham side sit atop the Premier League draw table with an impressive 13 from 27. What may surprise is that, along with City, Fulham have the best away defensive record in the league conceding just 14 in 13 on their travels. Is this the work of the same defensive mastermind we all came to know and… well… tolerate?
Though Hughes is still about as popular as Andy Gray at a WI meeting with a minority of City fans, I’m sure he’ll be given an acknowledging lukewarm reception by the majority on Sunday.
Last Time Out (Premiership)
Feels like an age ago, doesn’t it? Undone by a complete fluke/ stroke of genius/ potato faced gimp (delete as appropriate) the heartache of losing a derby was perhaps sedated slightly by a spirited attacking performance that led fans to believe that, though we probably can’t now mount a title challenge, we at least shown that we might’ve, at some point, been able to.
Of course in Typical City™ fashion we have since then been subject to the
“mind numbing” bore draw at Aris away only to be the treated to a display by a
“massive top class squad” in the home return. Sandwiched between this Greek epic was the tale of Notts County at home which managed to sum up the contrasting 180 minutes versus Aris in just 90.
Fulham’s last league game was also a local derby. A 0-0 draw at home to stuttering Chelsea may have been a decent result 6 weeks ago but Chelsea’s immediate decline and a saved injury time penalty meant that Fulham, though presumably not Hughes, were disappointed to finish with just a point. Penalty aside, the rest of the game was forgetful, and the Fulham contribution even moreso.
Team News
Definitely out for City are Milner (hamstring), Boyata (hamstring), Richards (calf), De Jong (ankle), Given (shoulder), Johnson (ankle).
The real concern is for this season’s star performer Vincent Kompany who has a hip injury and is a doubt. Though Kolo Toure, Lescott and Boateng are all ready to deputise for the Belgian none have shown the same level of consistency and composure.
Bad Hip-ey: Kompany
Kompany aside, depending on what report you read, City will either line up with the same XI which faced Aris or replace Balotelli with Vieira. Fans will no doubt be hoping that Roberto Mancini will continue to dispel the suspicion that his tactics are a little too restrained by naming Tevez, Balotelli and Dzeko in the same side.
For Fulham ex-City substitute Dickson Etuhu is doubtful with a hamstring injury, caused, no doubt, when attempting to chop up his latest victim. After a lengthy period out with a broken leg Bobby Zamora rolled his ankle in training and is also doubtful. The impact of Zamora’s possible absence on the Fulham front line is questionable.
Never Fitty: Zamora
City will have to be weary of Fulham’s makeshift striker Clint Dempsey who is the London club’s leading scorer this season.
Look Mum’s Prediction
Apparently none of the previous 12 meetings between the two sides have produced a clean sheet for either team. Taking this, as well as City’s recent goalscoring form into account, I’m predicting a 3-1 home win, putting an end to Hughes’s dreams of a solitary point.