MANCHESTER CITY continue to try and hunt down league leaders Arsenal and they should get a test on Saturday from Premier League high-fliers Fulham at the Etihad.
City look a different beast with Erling Haaland in their team and it's no coincidence his absence in their XI has coincided with a slight drop in form from the usually-all-conquering champions.
Manager Pep Guardiola has suggested the Norwegian goal machine could return in time for this match and all eyes will be on the team sheets when they drop. If he's playing, expect already low odds for a City win to plummet further.
City had a dead rubber Champions League game against Sevilla in midweek and eventually came from behind to win 3-1 with a predictably much-changed team.
Fulham have enjoyed a fantastic return to the top flight so far and currently sit in an impressive seventh place. The truth is they would happily bite your hand off now for 17th place so the job done by Marco Silva has been impressive.
They do tend to get their wins against teams of a similar or lower standard though, although they only lost 2-1 at Arsenal and Spurs and drew with Liverpool.
They are unbeaten in their last four games and this is a free hit in reality.
How the bookies view it
Manchester City are as short as 1/10 in places, but you can get some 2/13 with SBK for a home win.
Fulham are an enormous 20/1 with 10Bet and the draw is 9/1 with SBK.
Recent head to head
Manchester City love a game against Fulham – they have won the last 12 meetings between the clubs!
Fulham last beat City in 2009.
Players to watch
With Haaland not absolutely certain to start and a ridiculous 1/3 to score anytime anyway, there has to be value elsewhere and Kevin De Bruyne has now scored two in his least two league matches and is 13/8 with bet365 to net.
It's something of a wonder that Aleksandar Mitrovic is still at Fulham. He's handled the step-up back to the top flight with aplomb and is now on 13 goals in 14 appearances for club and country. He is 10/3 to score with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Fulham have only really taken one heavy defeat this season and that was at the hands of Newcastle United. While City on their game can destroy just about any team in Europe, it could be worth backing Fulham with the luxury of a bumper three-goal handicap at 17/20 with Ladbrokes.
Bookies are assuming Fulham will get battered here, but they are a well-organised side and can give City a game. Given they have scored away from home at Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham, they won't just sit back. That makes the both teams to score with a City win at 16/11 with 10bet tempting.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and Fulham will be played on Nov 5, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Fulham prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
