A Sunday of London derbies in League begins at Craven Cottage as title hopefuls Arsenal travel to Fulham.
The Cottagers were partly responsible for the Gunners’ failed title charge last season as they took five points off Mikel Arteta’s side. After earning a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium, Fulham won the reverse fixture 2-1 on New Year’s Eve.
This is the first duel between the pair this season, with Arsenal entering the fixture off the back of a 2-0 victory over Manchester United in midweek. Arteta’s men have now won four games on the bounce in all competitions with their deficit to league leaders Liverpool seven points after Wednesday’s results.
Marco Silva’s Cottagers are up to sixth in the Premier League table after beating Brighton 3-1 on Thursday. Fulham haven’t batted an eyelid despite losing crucial midfield cog Joao Palhinha in the summer, with their core of former Arsenal stars – Alex Iwobi, in particular – impressing this term.
Fulham are once again without Tom Cairney after he was sent off following VAR intervention at Tottenham last Sunday. The recently suspended Joachim Andersen was eligible to return to Silva’s squad on Thursday night against Brighton but missed out due to a calf injury. He’s unlikely to come back into the team on Sunday.
Reiss Nelson was forced off with a hamstring injury in midweek, but the winger couldn’t have faced his parent club anyway. Emile Smith Rowe is available to face the Gunners, but Silva could opt for Andreas Pereira, whose exile was brief, this weekend.
The Gunners were without Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori for Wednesday’s victory over Man Utd. The pair weren’t spotted in team training on Friday but they are said to be working individually in a bid to feature on Sunday.
If the pair are preserved again, Arteta could once again turn to Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko in defence. Another option is using Jurrien Timber at left-back and Thomas Partey at right-back.
Partey and Mikel Merino returned to the squad after missing last weekend’s thumping of West Ham.
Arsenal lineup vs Fulham (4-3-3): Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Timber; Rice, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
