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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 4
Manchester City v Fulham
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Saturday, 2 September 2023
Kick-off is at 14h00
Manchester City will look to keep their 100 per cent record in the
Premier League this season intact when they welcome Fulham to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, September 2.
The Citizens made it three wins from three when they beat newly-promoted Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramall Lane on August 27 to remain the only team in the top flight to not have dropped any points.
Pep Guardiola's side opened up a two-point gap to West Ham, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal, who are all still unbeaten in the new campaign.
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The Cottagers ended the Gunners' winning start to proceedings with a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium on August 26, having gone in front through Andreas Pereira in the opening minute and then needing a late goal from Joao Palhinha to rescue a share of the derby spoils.
Marco Silva's side have taken four points from their opening three matches to sit 12th in the league standings after kicking things off with a 1-0 victory over Everton before slumping to a disappointing 3-0 loss to local rivals Brentford.
Erling Haaland will fancy his chances against the West Londoners, having scored in both home and away fixtures last term. The Norwegian hitman already has three goals to his name in 2023-24 after bagging a brace at Turf Moor and scoring at Bramall Lane.
Alamy Stock Photo
Joao Palhinha has proved to be an important acquisition for Fulham, making 35 appearances in his debut season after joining from Sporting CP in July 2022. The Portugal international did an admirable job of shielding the defence and even chipped in with three goals, while he got off the mark in the new campaign with the equaliser against Arsenal.
Juanma, who was filling in for Guardiola in the dugout after the City manager underwent back surgery last week, praised Haaland's mentality for overcoming the disappointment of missing a penalty in the first half against the Blades to eventually open the scoring.
"Today would have been difficult for any striker how it played out in the first half. There is the penalty which was frustrating but that can happen to any striker, not just Erling," Juanma said.
"What it does show and not just because he scored, it really shows his mental fortitude to keep going. That's really difficult to find and he showed it today. He is young but his mindset is so good."
Silva lauded his players for a resilient performance against the Gunners after they battled for a hard-earned point despite losing Calvin Bassey to a red card in the 83rd minute.
"After the last defeat that we had against Brentford at home - a harsh, harsh result for us - we wanted to react," the Portuguese said.
"Many people thought that this is not the best place to show a reaction, [but] our idea was completely different - it was going to be the best place for us to show a reaction.
"All credit for the players, because it's not easy after conceding 2-1, to start playing with 10 men. After we equalised the game, we showed our resilience, our braveness and organisation."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City -
Fulham -
Draws -
Matchday 3 fixtures:
Friday, September 1
19h00: Luton Town v West Ham United
Saturday, September 2
11h30: Sheffield United v Everton
14h00: Brentford v Bournemouth
14h00: Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur
14h00: Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
14h00: Manchester City v Fulham
16h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v Newcastle United
Sunday, September 3
13h00: Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton Wanderers
13h00: Liverpool v Aston Villa
15h30: Arsenal v Manchester United
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