Prediction: Manchester City vs Fulham

Verdict: Man City to Win to Nil

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker: 888sport

Reigning champions of the League Cup continue defence of their crown against Fulham on Thursday. The in-form Citizens play host to struggling Cottagers whose focus remains on their disappointing start to the Premier League campaign.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola will have little time to prepare his team knowing the League Cup clash against Fulham arrives as a quick turnaround following the Premier League victory over Tottenham on Monday. Two matches in a matter of days are likely to cause plenty of selection changes as Guardiola aims to keep his team fresh before the Premier League returns at the weekend.

Manchester City only met Fulham weeks ago, midway through September, and will be hoping for another clean-cut victory. The Citizens recorded a compelling 3-0 win thanks to goals from Leroy Sane, David Silva and Raheem Sterling. Heading into the Thursday’s game, Pep Guardiola could opt to rest some of these players with youngster Phil Foden hoping for another nod from the start. The 18-year-old put in a brilliant performance in the previous round of the League Cup against Oxford, having a hand in all three goals.

Team News

Another start for Phil Foden could beckon on Thursday while Brahim Diaz will also be hoping for a place in the starting line-up. Oleksandar Zinchenko is another fringe player who could be given a rare start for City this season.

In the meantime, Claudio Bravo remains a long-term absentee whereas Danilo is also likely to be absent. Ilkay Gundogan remains doubtful due to his hamstring injury.

Fulham

Things are going from bad to worse for Slavisa Jokanovic and his men. The Manchester City clash could not have come at the worse time possible given that Cottagers have shipped 15 goals in their last four games – while also losing every single one of them.

With only one Premier League win to their name thus far in the 2018/19 campaign, Fulham are sitting in 18^th place in the standings and could use a morale-boosting League Cup win. Manchester City are a far cry from being the same level as Millwall, however, who were Fulham’s victim in the previous round of the competition. Fulham continue to play their open-style football and are currently paying the ultimate price for poor defending – which simply isn’t up to the required standards. The Cottagers lost six consecutive matches against Manchester City and have last beat them in 2009. They are highly unlikely to repeat the feat this time around.

Team News

Fulham’s injury list has cleared up over the last week with Joe Bryan remaining the only absentee due to his hamstring problem.

Jokanovic will, however, be without Kevin McDonald who serves a one-match ban after being sent off against Bournemouth.

Key Factors to Consider

• Man City won 6 of their last 7 games in all competitions
• Citizens kept a clean sheet in their last four matches
• Fulham conceded 15 goals in their last four Premier League outings
• The Cottagers lost 6 consecutive games against Man City
• Fulham failed to keep a clean sheet in last 8 matches

Conclusion

Struggling Fulham are a no match for the in-form Manchester City who are coming off from a morale-boosting win over Tottenham. Pep Guardiola is expected to ring some changes to his first-team squad but the fringe players will be highly motivated to prove their worth against the Cottagers.

Verdict: Man City to Win to Nil

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker: 888sport