Manchester City take on Fulham on Thursday night in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. This is our Big Game Focus on the match.
Fulham could not have arguably picked a worse time to face Carabao Cup (and Premier League) champions Manchester City than now. The Cottagers are coming up against the best team in the land on the back of four straight defeats. These results have pushed the team into the Premier League relegation zone and heaped the pressure on manager Slavisa Jokanović.
City, on the other hand, have started the new season in very much the same way they ended the last. Pep Guardiola’s men are once again first in the Premier League standings and also lead Group F in the Champions League. Victory tonight would see them reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
Here is our preview of the game, including betting tips, team news and predicted line-ups.
Betting tips
In the four matches that Fulham have lost in recent weeks, three have been by a margin of more than two goals. When they played City in the Premier League this season, they lost 3-0. The Citizens beat Burnley 5-0 in their last home match. Back them to register a Home Win with a -2 Handicap for odds of 1.65 here.
When these two sides last met in September, Jokanović’s men could only muster three shots on City’s goal in the entire 90 minutes. Bournemouth beat them 3-0 in the Premier League over the weekend. Tonight’s hosts have been quite solid recently. The only three goals that they have conceded in their last ten games have all been in the Champions League. Bet on Both Teams to Score (BTTS) No at odds of 1.55 here.
In their last two matches, City have come flying out of the traps. On Monday, Riyad Mahrez scored a sixth-minute goal that ended up being the winner against Tottenham. In the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk last week, David Silva and Aymeric Laporte were on target in the first half before Bernardo Silva scored in the second half.
Fulham have only scored six goals in their last five games in all competitions. They bagged four of those in the first half, including the latest three. Odds for the First Half With Most Goals are at 3.00 here.
Team news
Ilkay Gündogan and Danilo are not expected to recover in time to feature against Fulham. Goalkeeper Edersen Moraes is likely to keep his run in the side going, given that Claudio Bravo will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Left-back Joe Bryan is the only injury doubt for the visitors. Midfielder Kevin McDonald is suspended.
Likely line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Delph; B. Silva, Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Jesus, Sane
Fulham: Bettinelli; Fosu-Mensah, Mawson, Odoi, Le Marchand; Johansen, Anguissa; Christie, Cairney, Ayite; Kamara