Manchester City welcomes last place Fulham to the Ethiad Stadium on Saturday as they continue their pursuit of Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League table.
Manchester City vs. Fulham: Preview and TV schedule
City continues their title pursuit against Fulham, a team fighting a battle of their won at the opposite end of the table.
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Don’t be fooled by City’s fourth place position, they’re still holding two or three games in hand on all three teams ahead of them, but winning those in-hand games is never a sure thing. Before Manuel Pellegrini can worry about that though, his team will have to focus on Fulham, a match they absolutely have to win.
Not having captain Vincent Kompany available will be an annoyance, but not the end of the world. Sergio Agüero's continued hamstring problem is likely to be a bigger issue in the long run, especially with a Manchester Derby scheduled for Tuesday.
Fulham picked up rare win last week over Newcastle, moving them within four points of escaping the drop zone. With his first victory at Fulham behind him, head coach Felix Magath must now figure out how to carry the momentum over, even if the Cottagers fail to get a result against City.
Manchester City injuries and suspensions
Out: Vincent Kompany (suspended), Sergio Agüero (hamstring, Matija Nastasic (knee) and Stevan Jovetic (hamstring)
Fulham injuries and suspensions
Out: Ashkan Dejagah (muscle), Kostas Mitroglou (knee), Scott Parker (knee), Damien Duff (knee).
Defender Vincent Kompany will serve his one match ban for his red card against Hull City, meaning Joleon Lescott will return to the back line. Sergio Agüero remains out with continued hamstring problem. For Fulham, Dejagah and Mitroglou both came up short in their bids to get healthy for Saturday.
Projected lineups
Manchester City: Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Joleon Lescott, Martin Demichelis, Aleksander Kolarov, Yaya Touré, Fernandinho, Samir Nasri, Álvaro Negredo, David Silva, Eden Džeko
Fulham: David Stockdale, John Heitinga, Brede Handeland, Fernando Amorebieta, Kieran Richardson, Steve Sidwell, Kvist, Pajtim Kasami, Lewis Holtby, Alexander Kacaniklic, Cauley Woodrow
Match Date/Time: 3 p.m. local, 11 a.m. ET
Venue: Ethiad Stadium, Manchester, England
TV: NBC Premier League Extra Time (U.S.), TSN2 (Canada)
Online: NBC Live Extra (U.S.)
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