Fulham overview

In a somewhat similar yet different turn of events, I've decided to focus on the lesser supported Premier League clubs in terms. First was Forest, and now Fulham. Last season was kind to the west London club, as they finished 10th in their first season back in the top flight. However, there were rumblings Marco Silva could leave for Saudi, and then Mitrovic did indeed do so. The first four games of the season has been a mixed bag, seeing the club pick up a win against fellow bottom half side Everton, nick a draw against title challenging Arsenal, lose in ugly fashion to rivals Brentford, and be humbled against 3x reigning champion Man City. The major concern is trying to replicate the defensive performance from last season, as well as score enough goals now that their number 9 is no longer around.

Depth Chart

GK: Leno (Rodak)

CB: Diop, Tosin, Bassey, Ream

LB: Robinson (Ballo Toure)

RB: Castagne/Tete

DM/CM: Palhinha + Reed (Lukic, Cairney, Francois)

AM: Pereira (Harris)

LW: Decordova-Reid/Willian

RW: Wilson (Adama)

CF: Raul (Vinicius, Muniz)

Interesting players

Iwobi - where will he play? As an 8? #10? From one of the wings? I am not Marco Silva, but I doubt he'd stray from the midfield trio of Palhinha sitting, Reed more or less box-to-box and Pereira as the creative spark. Thus, I would expect Iwobi to cover for Pereira and rotate with Willian on the left. It would be cool to see double 10s in games against the likes of Luton (this weekend) and Sheffield United, but who knows. My personal opinion is he's best as a 10 or 8, but if your wingers invert, they're playing in the same spaces anyway, so that works.

Bassey - will he regain the form he had at Rangers when he broke through, or will the Ajax issues persist? Will he end up playing more at LB (Robinson) or LCB (Ream), or will he rotate between the two? I think the tools that made him a coveted prospect will shine more in a club where he'll actually be able to defend instead of help in buildup.

Castagne - my question with him goes hand in hand with Bassey, in that they are utility players. The Belgian can cover either flank defensively, which would be well and good, but then the club still signed Ballo-Toure on loan from Milan. Compared to Tete, Castagne is far less comfortable dribbling the ball up the pitch, which is the way the fullbacks progress play for Marco Silva. I think in a system where he's either inverted or staying home at RB, with one of Diop and Tosin is next to him, Bassey or Ream on the left as Robinson bombs forward, could be interesting. Could also include Adama or Willian holding the width on the right.

Who's playing up front?

Raul hasn't been the same since his injury, but to be fair, Wolves have also been a mess in attack. Muniz is young, while Vinicius has been making the rounds a bit as as backup striker. My take is that this is going to lead to a huge drop off at Fulham, simply because they replaced Scott Parker with a vastly superior manager in Marco Silva, but sold the only player who reliably scores goals. Looking at last season, the quartet of Willian, Vinicius, Pereira and Reid combined for 18 goals. Palhinha, Reed, Wilson and Cairney also chipped in a total of 10 goals from midfield.

Outlook:

The best player by far is Palhinha. The club was able to capitalize on Bayern messing up in order to keep the Portuguese international, but being honest, he'll want out in January or next summer at the latest. Mitrovic already left and granted, the striker market isn't great, but there were guys out there. The problem here is that there's not much in terms of youth. Francois and Harris could hypothetically break through, but I don't see it other than cup games with the midfield quality as it is. Outside of those two, the only two under 25 players are Bassey and Muniz, neither of whom has done anything at a high level in Europe. Bassey could play significant minutes between LB and LCB, and maybe Muniz could play if Raul and Vinicius aren't scoring. If relegation were to occur, the club would have players with resale value, but so many would want to leave due to being more or less mercenaries in their prime years. That's how it goes in the Premier League.

Luton preview:

I've maybe watched a half of Luton this season, but they've seemingly tooled up in the transfer market for a season back in the Championship. Nothing wrong with that for a club that's never been tasted Premier League riches. That said, Luton will need to win games like this if they want any chance of staying up. Likewise, Fulham have to win at all costs to avoid relegation trouble. A convincing win would be nice, but at the end of the day it's about the three points. Sambi Lokonga will hope to showcase his abilities once again this season, having joined the hatters on loan from Arsenal after a spell at Palace. The same can be said about Ross Barkley as he tries to revive his career. For me, the back line is a mess, which is natural for a club not really trying to survive. A back 5, especially away from home, is tough to break down, but it has to be done from the flanks. Thus, I fully expect Robinson and Tete at fullback and Willian and Wilson on the wings, with the midfield three I mentioned previously. Raul or Vinicius up front. My boring prediction is 1-0 Fulham in a game the hosts should be winning comfortably.