Arsenal vs Fulham: Premier League – teams, start, lineups, title race | Football News
Arsenal Prepares to Face Fulham in Premier League Showdown
London, United Kingdom — Arsenal will host Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. (16:30 GMT) in an important English Premier League match. Fans can follow the buildup live on Al Jazeera Sport starting at 1:30 p.m. GMT, leading into a text commentary stream.
Recently, Arsenal’s hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title appeared dimmed after a 2-1 loss to Manchester City on April 29. This defeat marked the first time since October that Arsenal has lost its position at the top of the table. Despite trailing City by 10 points just weeks ago, the Gunners have the opportunity to regain a six-point lead this weekend.
The fixture schedule may have worked in Arsenal’s favor. While City competed in the FA Cup semifinals last weekend, Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United, halting a four-match losing streak in domestic competitions.
As Arsenal prepares for its match against Fulham, Manchester City will not play again in the league until Monday when they face a challenging away game against Everton. Should City be unable to capitalize on their two games in hand, the pressure to close a six-point gap could prove significant for them.
Opta data analysts continue to view Arsenal as the favorites to secure the title, contingent upon their performance against Fulham. Currently positioned in 10th place in the league, Fulham remains in contention for European qualification and aims to capitalize on any fatigue within the Arsenal squad, which recently drew 1-1 against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semifinals.
Fulham midfielder Josh King stated, “We will go there with no fear and play for the badge.”
Historically, Arsenal has dominated matches against Fulham, having never lost in 32 encounters held at home across all competitions. However, additional pressure looms as Manchester City has performed well against Everton, undefeated in their last 18 matches against them.
In their last meeting earlier this season at Craven Cottage, Arsenal triumphed over Fulham with a 1-0 scoreline, thanks to a goal from Leandro Trossard in the 58th minute. Fulham’s last victory against Arsenal came two seasons ago, when they won 2-1 at home.
This will mark the 67th meeting between the two teams, with Arsenal having won 44 times compared to Fulham’s nine victories. The first clash occurred in 1904 during an FA Cup match that Arsenal won 3-2.
Team News
Arsenal faces some injury concerns heading into the match. Both a key German forward and Eze were injured in the recent win against Newcastle, although Eze managed to appear as a substitute in the Champions League fixture. Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino will miss the match due to injury, but Riccardo Calafiori could see playing time after returning to the bench in midweek.
Fulham may welcome back Ryan Sessegnon from injury, but Alex Iwobi will miss the match due to a thigh problem. Kenny Tete and Kevin will also remain sidelined.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Arsenal:
Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze
Fulham:
Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze; Jimenez
