Premier League preview: Manchester City v Fulham

Fulham manager Mark Hughes will have revenge on his mind when he returns to the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday.

Hughes makes his first visit to Manchester City since the club sacked him in December 2009 and replaced him with Roberto Mancini.

Hughes faced his old side for the first time in November and saw Fulham thumped 4-1 at home by Mancini’s men but the former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder says the same will not happen again.

“We’ve moved on from that,” Hughes said.

“We’re better now in terms of understanding what we have to do. As a consequence, we expect a much improved performance and result.”

“What happened on the day, I think, some showed a little bit of apprehension in what we were trying to do. We’re better now in terms of understanding what we have to do. As a consequence, we expect a much improved performance and result.”

Hughes is likely to be without striker Bobby Zamora, who injured his ankle in training on Friday less than a week after he made his comeback from a broken leg which sidelined him for five months.

Fulham will also be without Steve Sidwell, who will miss a month with a knee problem, while Philippe Senderos and Diomansy Kamara won’t make the trip up north with back problems to keep them out of contention.

Hughes’ side will have to stop one of the players he signed at Manchester City, Carlos Tevez, if they are to have any chance of recording an unlikely victory.

Tevez starred in the 4-1 win at Fulham netting two goals and setting up another as City produced arguably their best display under Mancini.

But Manchester City will be fatigued heading into the match, with just two days rest after their 3-0 home win against Aris Salonika that booked their spot in the Europa League Round of 16.

As a consequence, Mancini is likely to rotate his squad with Kolo Toure likely to replace Vincent Kompany who is struggling with a hip injury.

Micah Richards (calf), James Milner (hamstring), Shay Given (shoulder) and Nigel de Jong and Adam Johnson (ankle) are all likely to miss the match, making the fixture a test of City’s strength in depth.

They will be desperate to win though, given the fact they have won just one of their last four Premier League games and have slipped to eight points behind city rivals Manchester United, who top the table.

And although City have won just one of their last 7 Premier League home fixtures against Fulham, they should have enough talent in their squad to post a needed league victory.