Fulham

Sammy James
Fan writer

Fulham's defeat by Newcastle United on Saturday was the game where any distant ambitions of Europe for this team truly slipped away.

I really do not think we are ready to deal with the pressure of playing twice per week.

We are almost certainly now the most inconsistent team in the league. There are no other teams who can say they have beaten Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United, but also lost to Burnley, Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

Right now, Fulham do not have a lot to play for, and that is not helping. However, I know that Marco Silva will not rest on his laurels, and I think he will be angry with the way the past three games have panned out.

Sunday's game at West Ham is a good chance for us to return to winning ways, especially as they are travelling to play Bayer Leverkusen three days beforehand.

While not much is actually on the line Fulham, every position up the table is extremely valuable and ending the campaign strongly will benefit us going into next season.

Sammy James can be found on Fulhamish, external

Image source, bbc

West Ham have joined Liverpool, Tottenham and AC Milan in the race to sign Fulham's 26-year-old centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, who is out of contract in the summer. (Guardian), external

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

We asked for your thoughts on Saturday's Premier League game between Fulham and Newcastle United.

Here are some of your responses:

Fulham fans

Gilo: A very disappointing day. There was not enough pressure on the ball out of possession and we were so predictable when attacking. Plus our indecisiveness when on goal meant there were far fewer shots on target. It was lame all over.

Will: We had so many chances and so much possession, yet there is nothing to show for it. It was a shame to lose at home, after our great home record, but we just cannot take our chances. I thought we could perhaps steal it after their goal was ruled out, but it wasn't to be.

Philly: If you look at the club's finances overall, we are punching above our weight.

Newcastle fans

Joseph: We rode our luck in the first half and were very open at times in defence, but the lads seemed to grow in confidence and began to take the fight to Fulham in the second period. The result is all that matters in this one though and it keeps us firmly in the hunt for European football, of some sort, next season.

Andy: Longstaff and Krafth were dreadful again. They are not good enough and are Championship players at best. In my opinion, they are only in the team because our injury list is as long the M5 motorway. This is an issue that needs looking at. There must be issues with the training or something because we have had over 40 injuries so far. That is horrendous. It was a vital three points though and we are still in it.

Richard: Walking away from that match, I feel like football is hard work to watch sometimes. I mean, most of that just wasn't enjoyable! Fulham had a lot of the ball but they managed the same number of clear-cut chances as the Toon. We somehow found the energy from somewhere at the end, and I think it was pure adrenaline! Still, somehow, we won!

Vernon: For a team that is still running on a very depleted squad, they are still proving to be a nuisance to the so-called 'Big Six'. European football is still on the cards. Come on the Toon!

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

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

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:

Everton v Burnley

Brighton v Arsenal

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

On another day, Fulham would have been the side leaving Craven Cottage with the points but poor finishing allowed Newcastle to remain in the game and clinch it late on.

Having already lost 14 times prior to this match, Fulham fans could probably sense something was coming from the Magpies as their threat grew greater the longer the game went on.

Anthony Gordon was a constant menace on his return from suspension, whilst missed chances from Willian, Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz opened the door for Eddie Howe's side.

Sitting in 13th in the Premier League, and being in no danger of dropping down to the Championship, Fulham's season is teetering to a close - but should it be?

Having reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, and securing wins over the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham, Fulham have more than showed what they are capable of.

Ambitions of a European spot next season may not be too high.

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following the narrow defeat: " A really difficult result for us to take. The team that clearly deserved to win this match was Fulham Football Club.

"First half, from ourselves, there was a lack of finish in the attack to finalise the attacks and the moments we had. We created enough in the end to win the game. From the first minute of the game to the last, we created enough but we did not finalise the attacks with a goal.

"Newcastle struggled with our pressure. We never let them come onto us and press us. We dealt well with their press and, from that moment, we could build our attacks.

"We were patient with the ball, did not try to create things too quickly and, in the end, we did create enough. We were not clinical or ruthless with the chances.

"They tried to break our momentum a few times with the goalkeeper on the grass once or twice and the medical staff coming on to the pitch a few times. Even so, they were not able to do it."

On what changed in the second half: "Second half was more balanced, I would say. We were not able to keep the ball for as long. We lost some balls which helped them to get into the game. In some moments the game is going to open a bit more, which is normal, a little bit more difficult for us to keep the same intensity and control.

"They started having offensive transitions, which they are really strong with. Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak on the other side, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes and that created more problems for us. For the goal, we left the edge of the box empty for the second ball and they scored."

On keeping perspective: "It is important for us to look for the positives. In football, the final score speaks loudest but we need to take the positive things from the game and that is what we will do.

"We lost a bit of momentum after the international break, which is part of the season and the schedule. We know that we need to get back to what we did before the break and to do that we need to keep working hard.

"Football is about putting the ball in the net and when you don't, it is more open."

Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday’s game between Fulham and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

• Newcastle have won their last five Premier League games against Fulham. The Magpies have only had a longer winning run in the competition against Tottenham (six games) in December 2008.

• Having won just one of their first 10 Premier League away games this season (D2 L7), Newcastle have now won three of their last five away matches (L2). They have also kept their first clean sheet on the road in the league since their 8-0 win over Sheffield United in September 2023.

• Fulham have lost consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since December, while they failed to score in the competition for the first time since a goalless draw against Everton in January.

• Bruno Guimaraes scored his third goal in his last four Premier League away games, one more than in his previous 28 such games in the competition (two goals).

• Fulham's 67.3% share of possession was their highest in a Premier League game, which Marco Silva's side has lost, since April 2023 against West Ham United (76.6% and a 1-0 defeat).

Bruno Guimaraes scored his fourth goal of the season as Newcastle beat Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The Brazilian struck the winner inside the last 10 minutes after good work from substitute Harvey Barnes, shortly after Fabian Schar had an effort ruled out.

Newcastle are now one point adrift of sixth-placed Manchester United and firmly in the tussle for a place in Europe next season.

Willian, Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz missed great chances for Marco Silva's home side as Fulham stayed in 13th place.

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

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

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

Follow all of the reaction here

Seven matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

BBC Radio 5 Live commentaries:

• Everton v Burnley

• Brighton v Arsenal

All kick-off times BST

Listen to radio commentaries and follow live text updates here

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

For this weekend's games, he takes on darts stars Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall, who both support Manchester United.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Newcastle's inconsistency means they are turning into the new Chelsea - which is not a good thing for them, or for the sake of my predictions.

Fulham have been up and down as well, but they are usually more reliable at home and the Magpies' squad is still stretched by injuries and some of their players appear to be running on empty.

Compared with last season, Newcastle's defensive record is significantly worse this time - they conceded 33 goals in 38 games in 2022-23 but have already shipped 52 in 30 matches so far in this campaign.

A lot of that is down to the fact their regular back five from last season - defenders Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Fabian Shar and Sven Botman, plus goalkeeper Nick Pope - have missed so many games this time.

Those five players all started at least 35 league games last season, but there has been nothing like the same continuity in recent months.

That's a major reason why teams have been able to get at them, and I am expecting Fulham to do the same on Saturday.

Littler's prediction: Rodrigo Muniz is in great form for Fulham but Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes are playing really well for Newcastle. 1-3

Aspinall's prediction: I am going to go for another away win here. Newcastle are not in their best form at the moment, but my mate Chris Dobey [who took on Sutton in week 17] is a Geordie so I am going to stick by him. 2-3

See the full list of predictions

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League match at home to Newcastle.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Silva confirmed he does not have any fresh injury concerns to contend with from the midweek loss at Nottingham Forest.

• On Tuesday night's disappointing 3-1 defeat at The City Ground: "It was a bad night for us, but we can't change that. It's a moment for us to remind ourselves what we are capable of doing when we're at our best level."

• Silva is keen for his side to remain hungry for their run-in: "We have ambition and we want to climb the table, 100% sure. We have seven games to fight for the three points."

• On the form of striker Rodrigo Muniz: "We all think the skill and talent is there to keep developing as a football player. There's much more to come from him."

• On opponents Newcastle: "They've prepared their team for the Champions League, and when you prepare for the Champions League, you know what that means. They have a lot of quality."

Follow the rest of Friday's Premier League news conference

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's Premier League fixture between Fulham and Newcastle United.

• Newcastle have won their last four Premier League games against Fulham – only against Tottenham, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland have they won more consecutively in the competition.

• Having been unbeaten in all seven of their Premier League away games against London sides last season, Newcastle are winless in all four so far this term. They’ve lost their last three in a row, last losing more consecutively in the capital between January-April 2019.

• Fulham have won nine of their 15 Premier League home games so far this season, their most in a single top-flight campaign since winning 10 in 2011-12. They’ve scored 3+ goals in seven of these victories, last scoring 3+ in more different top-flight home games in 1966-67.

• Across Fulham’s last 20 Premier League matches, there have been 71 goals scored at an average of 3.6 per game. Indeed, since a 0-0 draw with Everton in January, there have been at least three goals scored in each of the Cottagers’ last nine games.

• Rodrigo Muniz has scored in his last four Premier League home games, netting six goals in total in this run. It’s the longest scoring streak a Fulham player has had at home in the competition’s history.

• Aleksander Isak has scored five goals in his last seven Premier League appearances in London for Newcastle and is averaging a goal every 105 minutes in the capital, the best ratio of any Magpies player to play 200+ minutes for the club in London.

Portuguese manager Marco Silva, 46, could attract interest from West Ham United, with the release clause in his Fulham contract worth £8.6m. (Sun), external

Premier League clubs are pushing to scrap points deductions in favour of a new luxury tax fine system. (Mirror), external

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

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from this midweek's Premier League fixtures.

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

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League defender Phil Jagielka says Fulham "become unstuck easily" when they are not dominating games this season.

Tuesday's defeat by Nottingham Forest comes three days after a disappointing draw with bottom side Sheffield United.

"The past two games have been away from home and against teams they are expected to beat," said Jagielka on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"When you are supposed to dominate quite comfortably and you do not then it can be difficult. That requires a different skillset.

"Fulham are still new to being a top half of the table team. In the past couple of seasons they would have expected to finish in the bottom half, but now they are expected to go and dominate games. When they do not then they become unstuck easily."

Marco Silva's side are 13th in the table with seven games remaining.

Listen to the Football Daily Podcast on BBC Sounds

Jess Anderson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Inconsistent results have summed up Fulham's season so far, with big wins against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal offset by disappointing losses to Bournemouth, Burnley and now Nottingham Forest.

After conceding two early goals in a nightmare first-half, boss Marco Silva made a triple substitution in only the 33rd minute, bringing on Willian, Tom Cairney and Adama Traore in an attempt to turn the game around.

For a spell it worked, but the visitors were unable to capitalise on a dominant period and eventually conceded a third goal in added time to cap off a miserable opening half.

They had to improve and did so as Tosin Adarabioyo scored early in the second period.

The visitors had opportunities to get back in the game as Willian's dipping effort was just off target and Rodrigo Muniz went close to extending his eight-goal tally in the Premier League.

Traore cannoned a late strike off the bar too, but Fulham failed to replicate the heroics that saw them overturn a two-goal deficit against Sheffield United and earn a point last time out in a 3-3 draw.

The Cottagers have lost three of their last nine league matches, but their away woes continue with just one win in their last 15 on the road.

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham manager Marco Silva speaking to BBC Match of the Day:

"Disappointing. Performance first half was that we were not there at all. That is the reality. The first time that has happened since 2021, the way we play and start the game. You can start the game on the backfoot sometimes but it was not clear what happened. Too slow, not solid enough, everything we planned for the game wasn't there in the first half.

"The reaction was there in the second half but we woke up too late.

"It wasn't the fault of the three players that came off at all, in that moment if I could change more I would have. I don't want to do all the subs in that moment but it wasn't them. We needed Tom Cairney to keep us calm and I knew he would do that with better circulation in our build-up and organisation. In that moment I made those substitutions because we needed a different type of things.

"We were not clinical in the second half. We created enough to have a different result after a bad first half but football is from the start and the damage was already there. Our aim was to not let the damage get bigger in the second half and we did that. We have to go to the next one.

"They have to be disappointed with us and they have all the reason to be. In most moments they have been pleased with us and proud. We are in this fight together and I know they will be there next Saturday to support the team. Tonight, they should be disappointed with us because we didn't perform as we should do."