Fulham

Former Premier League midfielder Cesc Fabregas spoke to the Planet Premier League podcast about Fulham, who take on title challengers Manchester City on Saturday: “Fulham is a tricky one for Manchester City, because they are playing well and they have good players. They've had a very complete season, they've improved in many areas and they have a good coach. It will be tricky for Manchester City to obtain the three points.

"I'm happy to hear that Silva isn’t happy with Fulham just surviving relegation because that's what we need for the Premier League to keep improving, managers like this with this mentality.

"He has a good group of players, technical players. He's made them believe, he's made them work hard because they track back and they really are very disciplined.

"They have a very clear idea of what they want to do. His style of play is very demanding, but at the same time it's good on the eye.

"It's true that they are a bit inconsistent. They can struggle sometimes but it's still early days. What he's saying, what he's trying to build takes some time as well.

"I believe they are on the right track. He's done it before in other clubs, he's a successful manager so I think he'll be successful at Fulham.”

Listen to the full episode here

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Fulham and Manchester City in the Premier League.

• Fulham have won just one of their 15 Premier League home games against Manchester City, beating them 2-1 in November 2005 under Chris Coleman.

• City have won their past 15 meetings with Fulham in all competitions – it is the joint-longest winning run any team has had against another in competitive English football history, with City also having 15-game runs against Bournemouth and Watford.

• Fulham have won just one of their past seven Premier League games, while they are winless in each of their past three at Craven Cottage (D1 L2).

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their past 20 Premier League games (W16 D4). They have won each of their last six in a row, scoring four or more goals on five occasions in that run.

• Erling Haaland has scored five goals in his three Premier League games against Fulham, including a hat-trick in City’s 5-1 win earlier this season. He has scored a penalty in all three games. No player has ever scored from the spot in four consecutive Premier League appearances against a specific opponent.

• Rodri has not lost any of the past 47 Premier League games in which he has featured for Manchester City; only three players have ever had a longer unbeaten run in the competition’s history – Sol Campbell (56 from Nov 2002 to Oct 2004), Kolo Toure (48 from May 2003 to Oct 2004) and Thierry Henry (48 from May 2003 to Oct 2004).

We asked you what Jay Stansfield's future should look like, after returning to Craven Cottage after a promising loan spell at Birmingham City.

Here are some of your suggestions:

Will: This type of question is exactly what pre-season is for. Give him some game time and see how he fares. With [Armando] Broja leaving, there is no reason Stansfield cannot be third choice, or even better.

Hector: Two consecutive seasons and two increasingly impressive loan spells. There’s not much more he can do - he deserves to be in Marco’s plans for next season.

Luke: Stansfield is not the type of player for a Marco Silva striker. Most of his starts have come as a winger, and I expect that to continue. I think he'll stay and be an option off the bench as a winger and a striker. Ideally, he will go out on loan to a top Championship or bottom of the Premier League club to see if he can make it at the highest level.

Ian: Jay should be given the chance to play on the left as it's unlikely Willian will be there next season but a loan out to a Premier League club wouldn't be too bad to give more experience. For example, he could go to Leicester who have just come up and rotate with [Jamie] Vardy. Fulham have a hard closed season of who to keep - I am expecting a busy window of ins and outs.

Mike: Stansfield is the ideal replacement for [Raul] Jimenez.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Jay Stansfield will return to Fulham this summer after a season-long loan at Birmingham City.

Despite it being a disappointing season for Blues, who were relegated to League One on the last day of the season, the forward's talent shone through and he won the hearts of the fans.

They say 'never fall in love with a loan player,' but that is exactly what happened at St Andrew's.

The 21-year-old completed the clean sweep of five awards at Blues' end-of-season event, including supporters' player of the season and an award for players' player. He was the campaign's top goalscorer with 13 and won Goal of the Season for his debut goal against Plymouth Argyle in injury time.

In a season that has seen five managers in the dugout and Tom Brady becoming co-owner, Stansfield kept the fans' hope of survival alive until the very last minute,

But with Birmingham playing in the third tier next season, a permanent move for the England-under-21 international is highly unlikely.

So what next?

Image source, Getty Images

Stansfield has played eight times for Fulham since signing from Exeter City's academy in January 2020.

He was loaned back out to his boyhood club in 2022, wore the number nine shirt that his dad Adam wore and played in front of a stand bearing his father's name.

Including his spell at Birmingham, he has made 84 senior appearances and scored 22 goals.

However, competition for a place in the first team at Fulham is fierce with Marco Silva boasting seven forward options already.

Rodrigo Muniz has 10 goals this season and he is followed by Bobby De Cordova-Reid on seven and Alex Iwobi on six. Willian and Raul Jimenez have also netted five.

Stansfield only signed a new four-year-deal with the club last August but could opt for a move away from Craven Cottage to continue playing first-team football.

Yet at just 21-years-old - and with that contract giving him three more years in west London - it would appear he remains on the club radar as one to watch in the future.

Whether that will be at Craven Cottage next season, or away from it, we will have to wait and see.

What do you reckon, Fulham fans?

Would you like Stansfield to get his opportunity next season? Or is he still too young?

Let us know your thoughts here

Chelsea are searching for a buyer for Albania striker Armando Broja, following the 22-year-old's loan spell with Fulham. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Sammy James
Fan writer

Saturday's 0-0 draw at Brentford was one of the most frustrating performances of the season. Despite dominating large swathes of the game, Fulham were wasteful in attack.

Raul Jimenez's miss with the goal gaping was the extreme example of our profligacy, but in all honesty there were numerous members of the team who made poor decisions when we entered the final third.

Yet while our attack let us down, defensively we were very sound against the Bees. Issa Diop put in a man-of-the-match performance, which considering he was not even in the squad a few weeks ago is an impressive turnaround.

Since the match, it has been pointed out on social media that Fulham's recent defensive record has been pretty standout. Since 1 January, only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have conceded fewer goals in the Premier League.

This weekend, all Arsenal fans will be praying that Fulham can stop City at Craven Cottage, and while I am not that sure that we will, it may just be our defensive solidity that gives us a small chance.

Not only that, but I am sure former Arsenal players Alex Iwobi and Bernd Leno would love to help their former side out too.

Then again, we have lost our past 15 games against City, so I would recommend Gunners supporters not to put all their hopes on us doing them a favour!

Sammy James can be found at Fulhamish, external

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Friday and Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Burnley v Newcastle United

• Manchester City v Wolves

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

This was a goalless draw which will not live long in the memory for Fulham fans and will surely end up last on Match Of The Day.

One person who will not want to watch those highlights is striker Raul Jimenez, who missed the best chance of the game against Brentford.

Adama Traore picked out the Mexican striker with a low cross but despite having time and space in an abundance he managed to screw his shot wide.

Jimenez wanted the ground to swallow him up immediately afterwards as he clasped his hands to cover his face.

The 32-year-old, who suffered a horrendous head injury while at Wolves in November 2020 which kept him out for nine months, always felt like a bit of bargain punt by Fulham.

Marco Silva is under no illusions about the need to sign a proven striker in the summer.

Jimenez is one year into a two-year deal (with the option of a third year) but with a need to manage the wage bill he might end up being shown the exit door this summer after a modest return in front of goal.

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham boss Marco Silva speaking to BBC Match of the Day on whether it was a dull afternoon: "A tough game for both sides. It is a derby that is becoming a little bit more special, the incentive for both, and I think we showed that in the match as the best chances were for us. We kept them really quiet. Even though they are dangerous on set-pieces we kept them quiet because we did our job.

"We showed the motivation and commitment. When you are not motivated you can start to lose focus but we didn't see that in our team. We tried until the last moment to go forward. All the changes I made - and Thomas Frank - was more attacking."

On Raul Jimenez's miss: "Yes, normally those are the chances where you expect to see the ball in the back of the net. We all expected him to score. The good thing was he was in the right position. He tried, he didn't score and hopefully next time he will score because we trust in him."

On offering Willian a new contract: "Yes, I was clear in the last two months that we are happy with him and we try to renew the contract with him."

On Rodrigo Muniz: "He is a player we signed last summer. We will help him to recover his confidence to be that Premier League striker we all know. He had a very good week and for that he was the solution to play the last couple of games."

• Brentford have drawn at home against Fulham for the first time in 19 matches in all competitions (W11 L7), previously doing so before today in February 1987 in the third tier (3-3).

• Brentford are unbeaten in five Premier League home games (W1 D4), keeping clean sheets in each of the last three, having conceded in 10 consecutive such matches since the start of November 2023 (22 goals conceded in total during that period).

• Fulham have kept consecutive away clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since February 2023, having shipped 28 goals across their previous 12 matches on the road before their 2-0 victory at West Ham in April.

• This was Brentford’s eighth 0-0 draw in the Premier League, only Crystal Palace (11) and Brighton (9) have had more since the Bees were promoted to the competition in 2021-22.

• Brentford’s Ivan Toney has now gone 10 Premier League games without scoring, only in his very first 11 league matches for Northampton in 2013-14 has he gone longer without netting a league goal for a single club.

• Both sides hit the woodwork in the match, only Liverpool (24) have done so more often than Fulham (18) in the Premier League this season, while Fulham's woodwork has been hit more times than any other side (19).

Ivan Toney's struggles in front of goal continued as Brentford played out a goalless draw with Fulham.

England striker Toney registered just one shot on target - and two in total - as he drew a blank for the 10th Premier League game in succession.

Raul Jimenez had Fulham's best chance when he was picked out by Adama Traore's low cross but contrived to miss the target from close range.

Bryan Mbeumo hit the crossbar for the Bees who also had a decent shout for a penalty turned down after Yoane Wissa appeared to be bundled over by Sasa Lukic.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Brentford fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Fulham fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Fulham have been decent at home this season but they have become almost impossible to predict recently, while Brentford are safe now too, so it's hard to know what to expect from them either.

I am basically saying I don't have a clue what will happen here, but it is a derby and I do think there will be a few goals.

Nathan's prediction: I am going for more goals here. 2-2.

Read all of the predictions here

There are five Premier League matches taking place today and we will keep you updated on all of them.

Full commentary:

• Burnley v Newcastle, 15:00 - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Man City v Wolves, 17:30 - BBC Radio 5 Live

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has spoken to the media before Saturday's home Premier League game with Fulham.

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• He sees increased demand as a positive: "It's fantastic that the expectations are rising - it's always an indicator that you're doing something good. I think we always want more, we want to develop and we want to do better."

• However, he pointed out the intense difficulty of playing in the Premier League: "This league is brutal. It's the best in the world. Last year we had the lowest budget and finished ninth, which shouldn't be possible. This year it's still quite low and, if you're not top seven, you are trying to fight somewhere between eighth, ninth and 17th. In a not-good season, when you are hit by injuries, you do the minimal, which is to stay in the league."

• Despite the overall season not being "through the roof", Frank insists he has learned a lot more about his players: "There has still been good performances and it is a good foundation for us going into next season."

• He highlighted the influence of a select group of Bees: "The key players, when they’ve played, have performed well: Christian [Norgaard], Ethan [Pinnock], Mathi [Jensen] and Vitaly [Janelt], who I think has actually added an extra layer this year. For Nathan Collins’ first season, he has done well while Kristoffer Ajer and Yoane Wissa stepped forward. They are just the players off the top of my head."

• He gave a positive update on long-term absentee Rico Henry: "He's out for the season but it’s looking good that, when we start pre-season, he should be ready to join in 100 per cent, which is the main bit for me. Hopefully, he can come back fit and firing ready for next season."

• Finally, Frank praised the job done by Marco Silva and his staff, including coping with the loss of top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic: " He was such an important player for them. He scored so many goals. They started with a lot of different solutions but now it seems to be [Rodrigo] Muniz's position at only 22 years old. For them, it must be fantastic."

Follow the latest Premier League news conferences and build-up to weekend's fixtures,

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Fulham travel to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Silva confirmed that all of his players are available for the game, including Harrison Reed, who has returned to training after being taken off as a "precaution" in previous game.

• Silva said it was a "technical decision" to leave out Tosin Adarabioyo from their most recent match - he has reportedly turned down a contract extension - and he knows "all the noise around himself and his future". Silva added: "I have been speaking to him, I have a close relationship with him like all the players. Everything has been clear between myself and him. And from him to me and my staff as well. If he is available to be in the squad, he will be in the squad."

• He continued: "Nothing change from last week when the news starts to come that he won't be with us next season. I know what he told me and I prefer to keep between us."

• On whether Willian, who is also out of contract in the summer, wants to stay and they want him to stay: "We are trying to renew with him. I said in the last week or two, he is a player that if I can do everything for him to stay, I will do. I have been doing the same with Tosin."

• Silva added: "With Willian, it is clear that at the end of the season we are going to sit, like last season, where we analyse season together, where he has a decision if he wants to take it. He is an important part of our football club, on and off the pitch, he is still a top-class player and if you can keep him in condition he can make the difference for us."

• He said derby games like the one against Brentford are "always special" for fans and after their 3-0 defeat earlier in the season, he added: "We made a mistake and a penalty that shouldn't be a penalty. There was also a red card that shouldn't be a red card. It is a new game, a new story and we want to write something different about the game. We need to be at our best level, to demand full focus and to reach a different result and win the game."

• On striker Rodrigo Muniz, who is one goal away from double figures in the Premier League: "We have found a very good player in Rodrigo, that is it. We signed him because I saw in him good skills to be a very good striker in future. We signed him when he was 20 years old with quality and not to copy other strikers of Fulham. [Aleksandar] Mitrovic had a big impact at this club and was a special player, but now the player that comes here is not to copy or find another Mitro."

Follow Friday's Premier League news conferences

Fulham, Brighton, West Ham and Benfica are monitoring Vitoria de Guimaraes and Portugal winger Jota Silva, who has a £17m release clause. (Rudy Galetti)

Chelsea have joined Newcastle in asking about the situation of former England youth international Tosin Adarabioyo, 26, who will leave Fulham as a free agent this summer. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Fulham's home form this season has been incredible.

Marco Silva has done a brilliant job at keeping them around the middle area of the table.

It will be interesting to see what happens this summer with Joao Palhinha. He is their star player but there will be interest.

Silva will want to finish strongly but the Manchester City game will be a tough one.

It will be vital to how things finish in the Premier League this season.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Brentford and Fulham in the Premier League.

• Brentford have won five of their past seven matches against Fulham in all competitions. They have won their past two in the Premier League against their London rivals.

• Fulham have lost six of their past seven away games against Brentford in all competitions. They won the other game 2-0 in November 2016 under Slavisa Jokanovic.

• Brentford have conceded more headed goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (19). This is also a league-high 32% of their overall goals conceded. The only team to concede more headers in a single Premier League campaign are Leeds United (20 in 1992-93).

• Fulham have won two of their past five Premier League away games. They only won one of their first 12 on the road this season. They are looking to win back-to-back away league matches for the first time since December 2022 and January 2023.

• Having netted four goals in his first five Premier League games after returning from suspension, Brentford's Ivan Toney has not scored in any of his past nine. It is his longest run without a league goal since a run of 10 with Peterborough United between February and April 2019.

• Rodrigo Muniz has scored nine Premier League goals this season and could become only the fourth player to score 10 or more goals in his debut campaign for Fulham in the competition - after Andy Cole (12 in 2004-05), Dimitar Berbatov (15 in 2012-13) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (11 in 2018-19).

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney spoke to the Footballer's Football Podcast about his side's Premier League draw with Crystal Palace last weekend.

"We were poor in the first half, we could have been 3-0 down to be honest," said Cairney. "They are in a really good moment, their manager has got them playing high press, five at the back. A very good team, I was very impressed. They have matchwinners in Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise.

"We were not at it. We went 1-0 up against the run of play and we just couldn't hold on to the three points.

"We made three changes to see the game out, but it wasn't meant to be. On the whole, we were disappointed.

"We need to be a lot better than that and finish the season stronger than that because it's been a good season and we don't want to fizzle out."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds