Overview
Fulham will return to Craven Cottage with the determination to regain inspiration after a heavy defeat to Arsenal, but the challenge for Marco Silva's team this time is not easy when Bournemouth is in extremely stable form.
In the most recent round, Fulham lost to Arsenal 3-0 right at the Emirates. The London team could not create a competitive game against a completely superior Arsenal. Viktor Gyokeres scored a double, while Bukayo Saka also put his name on the scoreboard to cause Fulham to suffer the heaviest defeat in this year's Premier League season.
However, Marco Silva's team has not given up hope of competing for a European cup spot. Fulham is currently only 3 points behind the top 7 and still maintains a fairly impressive home record at Craven Cottage. They have won 10 out of 17 home matches in the Premier League this season, a record only behind leading teams such as Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa.
However, Bournemouth is one of the teams with the most stable form in the league. Andoni Iraola's team currently has a 15-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League, the longest in the league to date.
In the most recent round, Bournemouth continued to impress when defeating Crystal Palace with a score of 3-1. Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan scored alongside Jefferson Lerma's own goal, helping the southern coastal team continue to nurture hopes of competing for Champions League tickets. Bournemouth is currently only 6 points behind the top 5.
A noteworthy point is that Bournemouth's attack is in very high form. After a goal drought in late February and early March, Iraola's team has scored at least 2 goals in all 5 recent Premier League matches.
In the first leg in October, Bournemouth defeated Fulham 3-1 at home. Now they are aiming to complete a double victory against the London opponent for the first time in Premier League history.
Personnel situation
Fulham is likely to welcome the important return of Sander Berge in the reception of Bournemouth, after the Norwegian midfielder missed the Arsenal defeat due to fitness issues. If he recovers in time, Berge is expected to replace Harrison Reed in the midfield of the Craven Cottage team.
In addition, Emile Smith Rowe is also ready to play despite experiencing cramps in the most recent match at Emirates. Kevin has also recovered from a toe injury, but Fulham is still missing two notable names, Ryan Sessegnon and Alex Iwobi, due to a thigh problem.
In the opposite direction, Bournemouth is facing troubles related to Alex Jimenez. The 21-year-old player was removed from the squad while the club is investigating social media posts related to him.
Regarding the force situation, Bournemouth may welcome the return of Justin Kluivert after more than four months of knee injury recovery. However, the match against Fulham still came too early for Lewis Cook, who has not fully recovered from his hamstring injury.
Expected lineup:
Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Lukic, Wilson, King, Chukwueze, Jimenez.
Petrovic, Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Adams, Scott, Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier, Evanilson.
The match between Fulham and Bournemouth takes place at 9:00 PM on May 9th (Vietnam time).
