Fulham travel to Leicester City looking for their first away win of the season

Struggling Fulham can climb out of the Premier League relegation zone should they win, but they face a tough task against high-flying Leicester City, who could go top of the league with a win.

Scott Parker’s Fulham have picked up just one point from four away games thus far, a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United in October, with defeats against Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.

The London side have not been much better at home either, with just three points from five games at Craven Cottage this campaign.

Fulham have lost seven of their opening nine games on their return to the top flight and unless something changes soon they could end up getting cut adrift in the relegation zone.

However, their second-half performance against Everton last weekend gave reasons to be optimistic. In the first half Everton were 3-1 up and cruising, carving Parker’s side open every time they went forward and could have added to their three goals before the break.

After half time though it was a different story. Fulham looked dangerous, reduced the deficit, and will have felt unlucky not to earn a point against a tough opponent.

The Cottagers have also had the benefit of more time to prepare for this game. Leicester’s involvement in the Europa League saw them playing Braga in Portugal on Thursday evening, where a very late goal from substitute Jamie Vardy saw Leicester take a point and qualify for the knockout stages.

Brendan Rodgers rotated his side for that game. Vardy, James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Wesley Fofana all started on the bench, although all four still featured in the second half.

That was the second of three away games in Europe for the East Midlands side this season, the previous one was followed up by a 4-1 win at Leeds United at the start of November, suggesting the extra rest for their opponents is not always a bonus.

The Foxes will be keen to get back to winning ways having lost 3-0 at Anfield last time out in the league. They should be boosted by their late equaliser in midweek, and the fact their opponents have only won once all season.

Leicester’s injury problems remain a concern with Wilfred Ndidi, Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey all out and Timothy Castagne and Ricardo Pereira also expected to miss out. The returns of Ndidi, Soyuncu and Pereira could be on the horizon with all three rumoured to be lined up to feature at Zorya Luhansk in the next matchday of the UEFA Europa League.

Fulham do have injury worries of their own with Kenny Tete and Terence Kongolo both out, but the visitors do have Aboubakar Kamara back from suspension.

This will be the first meeting between the two sides since March 2019 when Leicester City won 3-1 at the King Power Stadium. Brendan Rodgers and Scott Parker were in the dugouts for that game having both recently been appointed at the time.

The two managers remain in charge despite having mixed fortunes since then. While Fulham have been relegated and promoted since then, Leicester have gone from strength to strength and are now back to being considered one of the best sides in the country.

You would have to go back to August 2008 to find Fulham’s last victory over Leicester. A 3-2 win at Craven Cottage with a 90th-minute winner from Danny Murphy. Fulham’s last win at Leicester is even further back, in April 2004, where a brace from Collins John helped the Cottagers to a 2-0 win.

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