Fulham

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

There can often be a lot of focus on distances covered and sprints made by teams, but how much of a difference does it really make to their success?

When it comes to distance covered by teams it is the 'battle of the B's' with Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford having covered the most ground in the Premier League so far this season.

At the other end of the scale, bottom side Wolves have run the least so far - 5km fewer than any other side.

Initially, I thought this could be due to how difficult their start has been (i.e. sitting deep and not rushing out against top opponents), but they actually rank mid-table in pressing stats (with no players missing via red cards either).

But, it is worth noting that running a lot does not necessarily equal success.

Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Chelsea and Aston Villa have also been the 'laziest' teams so far yet have started the season well.

It is a similar story when it comes to sprints too - some good teams sprint a lot, some good teams sprint little.

Tottenham have made the most sprints in the Premier League this campaign, followed by fellow high-pressers Liverpool and Bournemouth.

But defending champions Manchester City have made the least – 60 fewer than any other team – and yet they have been pretty good so far too.

Looking at which teams have made the most sprints – Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea – and which the fewest – City, Arsenal, Villa – it suggests that playing style plays a part in how much a team sprints as well as just work rate.

Image source, Getty Images

Only Dwight McNeil (21) has created more chances than Fulham’s Andreas Pereira in the Premier League this season (20).

Five of these chances have been for Rodrigo Muniz, who has had more shots on target without scoring so far than any other player in the Premier League this term.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester City (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Silva confirmed Jorge Cuenca and Carlos Vinicius both remain out through injury, but all other players will be available.

• On the start to season after his manager of the month nomination: "Very much about the team more than about the individuals. It is a consequence of our performances and way we have been playing. Nothing changes... Nominations are not the main thing for us. The main picture for us is what we do as a football club, on and off the pitch, to make players feel comfortable to express themselves on and off the pitch."

• On forward Rodrigo Muniz: "The first game of the season, we started with Rodrigo because he finished so strong last season. The last four months for Rodrigo were top - we decided to start with him again."

• He added: "With his competition with Raul [Jimenez], [he] reacted very well, I have to say. He had some very good weeks, always knocking on the door and I told him - and even Rodrigo knows - it's not that Rodrigo lost his position. Raul earned the right to be there in the training sessions. We decided to change. Rodrigo now is showing his quality as well. Ready to go again."

• On player selection: "It's not just in that position [forwards]. Lucky for us we have some good examples. The right-back position is a fantastic example. I can mention others as well because many players are doing and showing a big battle with the others for the positions."

• The Fulham boss added: "You feel that you are never comfortable in your position because the others are there and if they get the chance then they can show themselves and perform in a way that they can keep their position. It's always good for me as a manager and the club. I think it's the best selection a manager can have in a football club."

• He said Emile Smith Rowe is "motivated" after not getting an England call-up: "Sometime ago he was there. One or two caps but he was there and felt the moment for sure. Competition is top in that position - what they have been doing in this position is so good. He has that goal and we are here to help him."

• On momentum after a first away win and fan support: "The trust in ourselves is important. The fans they have been with us. [It was] nice to give them what they deserve in the last away game... They are always with us, they have been incredible the last few seasons. What we can promise them is we are always going to give our maximum for the shirt and try to make them as proud as we can."

Catch up on all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Drew Heatley
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It is a question that comes up at the same time every year: when is it sensible to start looking at the league table?

Many believe things begin to ‘shake out’ at around 10 games. But, as Fulham enjoy their best start to a Premier League season in 20 years, six games feels like a good place.

Roughly a sixth of the way through the campaign, and our win at the City Ground on Saturday takes us to 11 points – or about a quarter of the way to the magical 40-point mark that has historically meant safety.

That is the point Fulham should look towards – at least for now. I recall when Leicester won the Premier League in 2015-16, Claudio Ranieri (of course less popularly of this parish) would constantly reply when asked about the team’s potential: "We must reach 40 points first".

"We’re all going on a European tour" bellowed out from the away end at full-time on Saturday, and while we currently occupy sixth, we would be wise to not get too carried away.

However, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. We have become a solid defensive unit this term, led by Calvin Bassey and the returning Joachim Andersen in central defence. Our five goals against is the joint-second fewest in the league – and almost half of the nine we conceded two decades ago, when we most recently experienced such a strong start.

Back then, in 2003-04 we eventually finished ninth, our highest-ever placing at that point. Yet it was tinged with disappointment. We were fifth at Christmas but sold Louis Saha to Manchester United and missed his goals. One of the hallmarks of Marco Silva’s Fulham is the outfield 10 sharing the goalscoring burden. Five players have contributed to our eight scored so far this term.

If 38 games is the destination, it is a long way away – so why not enjoy the journey. After all, we’ve waited 20 years.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish, external

Leicester defender Conor Coady believes Marco Silva is getting the best out of his Fulham side, as they sit sixth in the Premier League.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Coady said Fulham's transfer business of buying players with a point to prove has been key to their success.

Coady said: "I think it goes to show what sort of coach Marco Silva is, the job he's done there. I think they're fantastic - a really, really good side.

"This doesn't mean to sound bad, but they've got a real efficiency - they know what they're good at and they stick to it, they defend properly and they attack properly and they score great goals."

Coady played alongside Mexican striker Raul Jimenez at Wolves, and was quick to praise the 33-year-old, who has already scored three Premier League goals this season: "What he brings to a team is fantastic when he's on his game - it really is.

"He's a really all-round striker and [Marco Silva] seems to be getting the best out of that team at the minute."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans

Andrew: Forest certainly missed Gibbs-White today. Fulham deserved the three points. Forest huffed and puffed but Fulham were the better side on the day.

Luke: That’s probably our worst home performance under Nuno. Say what you want about the penalty appeals but we played so badly there’s no guarantee we’d have scored if we got one. Team selection baffles me slightly, I never like ending the 90 minutes with better players on the pitch than at the start.

Peter: Started with bad team selection. Sorry Wood and Awoniyi cannot play together with out the full on-wing support from Elanga and Hudson-Odoi. Then bringing on Elanga on his own was more of a mystery. The team were just totally disjointed and this was evident by their passing - it seemed like they did not really know where to go or who to pass it to.

Gary: If any Forest fan thinks that the jury is still out regarding how talented and how important Morgan Gibbs-White is to the club then today's stuttering performance should be evidence compelling enough to influence that jury, that we can't do without him.

Fulham fans

Mario: I feel that we seem to have one really great half and one really average half as Marco has eluded to. The players need to show the same level over the whole 90 minutes. However, despite the minor negative it’s still a fantastic win and one that is well deserved. Long may it continue.

Simon: It wasn’t necessarily pretty but a first clean sheet of the season and an away victory at a in form team is a good sign of progress. And I’m so glad we’ve got Marco Silva and not Nuno, because I couldn’t watch that type of football every week, even if it does keep Forest up.

Will: A very good win against a previously unbeaten side. Raul is continuing his fine form and this is our best start to a season in many a year, if we had not conceded those two late goals in earlier games, we would be first.

Luke: Glad we managed to hang on in the end. Few nervy moments but a good defensive performance. A game of few chances and could have gone either way. Great result for Fulham.

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.

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

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 4-2 Leicester

• Wolves 1-2 Liverpool

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

There was really only one sour point for Fulham boss Marco Silva after his side's victory at Nottingham Forest.

Andreas Pereira was clearly not happy with Raul Jimenez taking the ball off him for what proved the decisive moment of the game from the penalty spot.

As the designated taker Pereira probably had a point.

That Pereira was seemingly nowhere to be seen in the celebrations when the Mexican converted, though, did not reflect particularly well on him either.

Petty playground stuff from both players, and Silva was right to publicly nip the incident in the bud.

"It's clearly the fault of Raul," Silva said "It is not going to happen again.

"Has Raul apologised? Yes. He had to because he knows the rules and how important discipline is in our squad."

Silva will hope that the incident does not fester and any issues between the pair can be sorted out.

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham boss Marco Silva on Raul Jimenez's 50th Premier League goal to BBC Match Of The Day: "It's great to see him back at that level again after that bad incident when he was at Wolves. It was tough for him to come back.

"In an important moment of his career, when he was struggling for goals, we showed the trust in him - and believed in him. He got used to scoring before the incident but we trusted him. From the first moment in this club he showed his hard work and his quality. It's nice to see him score and be decisive for us."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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What did you make of Fulham’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

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

All kick-off times BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here

BBC Radio 5 Live commentaries:

• Arsenal v Leicester

• Wolves v Liverpool

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week six, he takes on Maximo Park singer Paul Smith, whose latest album, Stream Of Life, is out on Friday.

Forest host Fulham at 15:00 on Saturday.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

I like Fulham at home, but I am not so sure I like them as much away.

Nottingham Forest will miss the suspended Morgan Gibbs-White, which is a bit of a blow for them.

This is going to be a good game, but it has draw written all over it.

Smith's prediction: 0-1

Both of these teams are in the top half and have made decent starts so, like Everton versus Palace, this feels like a fair fight between two fairly equal teams.

As a Boro fan I loved it when Adama Traore was with us - he did have an end product, but it has become something that became a bit of a stick to beat him with.

This season he has definitely upped his conversion rate so I am thinking that Fulham might nick it. Forest have a lot of talent in midfield, but Gibbs-White being suspended might be the deciding factor.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Marco Silva's Fulham are enjoying an impressive start to the season.

They have only lost once - a tightly contested 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on opening night - and sit in the top half of the Premier League after five games.

Now entering a fourth season under their Portuguese head coach, supporters hold genuine optimism that this may be the best yet.

After storming to the Championship title in his first campaign in charge, Fulham finished 10th with a points-per-match [PPM] of 1.37 in 2022-23 and then 13th with a PPM of 1.24 in 2023-24.

It is early days of course but their PPM so far in 2024-25 is 1.6, on course to be the highest since Roy Hodgson's side of 2008-2009, which ended on 1.39.

That Hodgson side finished seventh - the Whites' highest Premier League finish - and qualified for the 2009-10 season's Europa League, where they reached the final.

Such a trajectory perhaps looked unlikely when key men Joao Palhinha and Tosin Adarabioyo departed for Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively, but smart replacements Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace and Sander Berge have made an assured start.

With funds spare, record signing Emile Smith Rowe has adjusted immediately, while Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez appear to be rekindling the productive double act they formed during their days at Wolves.

Silva is now the longest-serving Fulham boss since Chris Coleman between 2003 and 2007 and, after signing a new deal in 2023, is committed to Craven Cottage until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Having already secured one top-half top-flight finish, he will be hungry to achieve another before departing west London.

Perhaps though, Silva has his sights set even higher.

Image source, Getty Images

There has been a lot of conversation this week about "dark arts" in football following the draw between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday.

Realistically, everyone who has watched football for longer than one game has seen things they would perceive as "dark arts"; whether it is a player always going down winning free-kicks to take the sting out of the game, kicking the ball into row Z when there was no multi-ball system or time-wasting on goal-kicks.

These are things we see all the time but our perception of it is dependent on the context of a game. You always see some version of it somewhere, and you hope your team would be doing the same thing if in the same situation - because why should you do something that would benefit the opposition you are against?

It is the same as going down a bit more easily to win penalties - some people will say "this guy is a cheat", but then on the other side of their mouth, if it is something that could benefit them, they say "he has tried too hard to stay up, he needed to go down there".

You can have rulings, Ifab can get involved to change this and that, but there will always be a way to push the rules to their limits.

What we saw with Arsenal in that game, where David Raya sat down to get some treatment while the teams gathered, we have seen those moments before. It is not just new to Arsenal - other teams do it.

It is always based on certain moments. You do get more frustrated if it happens against you, but when you need to do it, you encourage people to do it. That is one of the beauties of football - the way you see things is always going to be down to perception, context and just whether you think it is benefiting you or not.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Silva feels they have been "growing" in their performances this season, even after changing "so many players and important players": "[We] signed some good players too. All teams need time to gel, create connections between players and understand our identity and philosophy."

• He also felt they should be higher up the table: "Should we achieve more points? Yes, definitely - against West Ham and against [Manchester] United, but that is the Premier League. You always have to be on your best level to achieve the points you want. It's been a good start and the main thing for me is how we are performing and getting better."

• On Raul Jimenez's comments around a shift in culture and mentality at Fulham: "It is good to hear that. I didn't have this conversation with him - it is something overall. It is important players feel that the word 'enough' isn’t one we like here. Of course, the Premier League is tough - the most difficult in the world - and you must always demand more from yourself."

• He added: "Believe me, if we are going to push for something more, then we will push. The reality is we have to look for the next game as the most important one. We want to do better than last season."

• On the impact of summer signing Emile Smith Rowe: "He is a talent and different than what we had in the last few seasons. Emile has everything in that position. He didn’t play enough in the past few years - that is tough. He will get more minutes and there is more to come from him. He is a shy and normal guy. I want him to express himself on the pitch."

• The Fulham boss said Adama Traore is a player that "always needs a little bit of love": "One thing we have been working on is consistency because it is important. If he is always on, then he can impact games in many, many ways."

• On if the win over Newcastle set a standard: "Recently and last season we showed we are more than capable of that. It did not surprise me at all. One of the biggest differences from the first and last season is difference in some big games where we showed our quality and ability against these teams."

• Before the trip to Nottingham Forest, he said it "isn't fair" to compare games: "If you go to last season, then you go to two seasons ago and we won there [at the City Ground]. Each game is a different story. Let’s hope we can write a different one in our favour."

Catch up on all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

Marco Silva's team have been receiving plaudits after not losing since the opening day but we asked you for the thing nobody is talking about yet with the Whites this season.

Here are some of your suggestions:

Tim: The one thing nobody is talking about? Bigger clubs coming in for Silva (Man Utd anyone?). Surely if Fulham are in the top 10 come December there will be owners looking at him. I just hope I haven't jinxed it by bringing it up now....

Keir: We have had only one loss this season so far, but the draw with West Ham felt like one and I think that’s the biggest difference this season. We have the feeling that this team with the new signings might just be able to do something a little bit special.

Fern: I think people haven't noticed how good the midfield partnership between Sasa Lukic and Andreas Pereira is working. They are working hard to replace the figure and stats of Palinha and accomplishing it with success. Their efforts should be praised.

Bob: Nobody talks about how good Calvin Bassey is. He keeps Fulham so defensively safe and man-marks the opposing striker so well. He is certainly a centre-back that has a great future!

Keith: Alex Iwobi. Fast, skilful, strong and with a remarkable engine. He is tearing it up for Fulham and forming a strong partnership with Emile Smith Rowe on Fulham's left, even though his best position is on the right.

Peter: No one is talking about the fact that Fulham have yet to be tested against a really quality side. This will happen in October when they face City and Villa back to back. Only after these two games can we really get a measure of where our season might be heading.

Image source, Getty Images

In the Premier League in 2024, only Kevin De Bruyne (74) has created more chances than Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (66).

Forty one of those have come via set pieces, which is the most of any player.

Image source, PA Media

Fulham are a good side - they have these spells when they go under the radar.

Marco Silva knows the talent they have with his new acquisitions and they have a style of play which can cause trouble to anyone.

The Newcastle game was a chance for their opponents to go top of the league, but in the first half and for segments of the second half, Fulham really dominated them.

There is a sense of belief. It is early in the season so you cannot hang your hat on them being there or thereabouts come the end of the season, but the best thing about football in August and September is that winning makes you believe that anything is possible.

While they are doing that, I think they can enjoy their football.

It is good to see them doing well and good to see players like Emile Smith Rowe and others getting their chance to play - and this is a great opportunity for him.

You can see his confidence is there because he knows he is going to be in the starting team pretty much every week, and he can play to his strengths because they can see how he benefits the side.

He does not need to worry about whether he is going to get five, 10 or 20 minutes from the bench in this game or that game. He can be on the field and directly influencing things.

We are seeing a better version of him, but we should not be surprised because he is somebody who has been highly touted for a long time.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright

Marco Silva's side have not lost since the opening day with record signing Emile Smith Rowe powering their impressive start alongside a reinvigorated partnership between Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez.

We want you to tell us what you've spotted so far.

When it comes to the Whites, what is the one thing nobody is talking about - good or bad?

Tell us over here, external