Opposition briefing: Everything you need to know about Fulham

Match previews

3 hours ago

Crystal Palace welcome Fulham to Selhurst Park on Saturday, 9th November (15:00) - so before kick-off, it’s time to get the lowdown on our latest opponents…

Factfile

Manager: Marco Silva
Current Position: 9th
Nickname: The Cottagers
Ground: Craven Cottage
Founded: 1879 (145 years ago)

What’s the story?

It was a night of high drama at Craven Cottage on Monday, as Fulham scored twice in added time – both courtesy of Harry Wilson – to come from behind and beat Brentford, leapfrogging the Bees and moving into the top half in the process.

The last-minute double kept Fulham’s London-derby record alive. They are unbeaten in their last six meetings with sides from the capital, and beat both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur last season.

Having finished 13th last season under Marco Silva and invested heavily in reinforcements over summer, there is hope at Craven Cottage that a top-half finish is within their reach. With fixtures against Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea to come in December, they can lay down their credentials against some of the division’s best sides before New Year.

Both teams have scored in all but two of Fulham’s Premier League games this season, including a dramatic five-goal thriller at the Etihad and three score draws. With Palace’s matches decided by fine margins, who can come out on top in South London this weekend?

The boss

This is Marco Silva’s eighth season in the English game, having managed Hull City, Watford and Everton in the past. Fulham's confidence in his project was underlined by their investment in the team over summer, including former Palace man Joachim Andersen.

Boot in both camps

Brede Hangeland made his name elsewhere in London, but a distinguished spell at Crystal Palace was a fitting finale for a distinguished career.

After a two-year spell with Copenhagen, he joined Fulham in 2008 and became a mainstay of their defence under Roy Hodgson, who would later go on to praise him as one of the best leaders he worked with over a near-50 year career in management.

Helping to complete Fulham’s ‘great escape’, the next season saw the remarkable run to the Europa League final.

After leaving Craven Cottage in 2014, Hangeland headed to south London where he made 25 appearances for Crystal Palace, scoring twice – helping the club to a top-half finish under Alan Pardew.

He retired from professional football in 2016, having made 91 appearances for Norway, 48 times as captain.

Record against Palace

Palace won three consecutive games against Fulham between 2018 and 2020 but haven’t earned three points since.

Boxing Day in 2022 saw Palace reduced to nine men in a fiery encounter at Selhurst Park, and there have been three straight draws since, including Jeff Schlupp's phenomenal equaliser at Craven Cottage in April.

All The Angles | Jeffrey Schlupp vs Fulham

Did you know?

Fulham were founded by worshippers as St Andrew’s Church Sunday School in 1879 – just 18 years after Crystal Palace – and began their days in the local West London League, initially sporting shirts of half red and half white.

They moved to their current Craven Cottage ground in 1896, a stadium steeped in history. The cottage itself was built in 1780 by William Craven, the sixth Baron Craven, and stood on the old hunting grounds of Anne Boleyn; Queen Victoria, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Florence Nightingale are among the famous names reputed to have stayed there.

Match details

Saturday, 9th November
15:00 GMT
Selhurst Park
Live audio commentary on Palace TV+

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