Our 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team previews continue with Fulham, whose pre-season preparations have been hit by Saudi interest in Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.5m) and Marco Silva.
From our selection of the best players for the upcoming season to a predicted line-up for Gameweek 1, we’ll dissect the Cottagers in detail.
You can read our stats-based review of Fulham’s successful 2022/23 campaign here.
Data in this article comes from our Premium Members Area, which you can access with a discounted pre-season subscription.
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FULHAM: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Fulham were one of the season’s surprise packages in 2022/23, ending up with 52 points and a top-10 finish.
Under Marco Silva, they played some eye-catching, progressive football with lots of crosses into the box – Mitrovic scored six headed goals, the third-most in the Premier League.
It was a successful blueprint that worked particularly well against teams in the bottom half: they won 11, drew six and lost just three in these fixtures, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
FULHAM: REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
With Mitrovic wanting to leave and the influential Palhinha (£5.0m) suffering a pre-season injury, Fulham aren’t in great shape.
The Cottagers’ form was poor without the Serb while he served an eight-match ban in 2022/23, while they also lost each of the three games Palhinha missed through suspension by an aggregate score of 3-10.
In addition, there is now speculation about Willian’s (£5.5m) future, despite him only recently re-signing for the club.
It’s also worth noting Fulham outperformed their underlying numbers at the back in 2022/23, conceding only 53 goals when they were expected to let in more than 65 based on the quality of chances they faced.
This was largely down to the excellent performances of Bernd Leno (£4.5m) – more on that later!
SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Raul Jimenez’s (£5.5m) arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers adds depth to the attack, the issue being he hasn’t performed at a consistently high level for a while now.
Still, Marco Silva seems confident he can get him firing and if he can find his old form, could offer value at just £5.5m. His performance against Chelsea in the Premier League Summer Series was positive, as he showcased some good hold-up play and smart passes., before he opened his account against Hoffenheim.
“About Raul, he’s more experienced, you can see in just 45 minutes how he is going to help the team. It was a very good second half from him, he made an impact that I wanted to see in the second half, linking our game, holding the ball, some good movements inside the box as well. I’m sure that if you’re going to provide for him like we normally provide for our strikers, then he is going to make a difference because I believe that he’s a great addition for us.” – Marco Silva on Raul Jimenez
Calvin Bassey (£4.5m) has also joined after an underwhelming season with Ajax. However, his time at Rangers was successful and he’s a confident ball-playing defender who is reliable in defensive duels, attributes that should serve him well in Silva’s 4-2-3-1.
PRE-SEASON REPORT
| Jul 23 | Fulham 3-2 Brentford (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia) | Wilson (Reed assist), DeCordova-Reid (Reed assist), Vinicius (Wilson assist) |
| Jul 27 | Fulham 0-2 Aston Villa (Exploria Stadium, Orlando) |
| Jul 30 | Fulham 0-2 Chelsea (FedExField, Maryland) |
| Aug 5 | Fulham 2-1 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Craven Cottage) | Jimenez (Robinson assist), Bassey (Andreas assist) |
Fulham have beaten Brentford and Hoffenheim at either of their pre-season but also suffered defeats to Aston Villa and Chelsea.
The squad has looked particularly thin, with options limited off the bench, something Silva has complained about several times.
“Unfortunately, we are really short in numbers and don’t have senior players on the bench. Just Willian came on second half, all the other players were our Under-21s, and the level and the quality is completely different.” – Marco Silva
Palhinha’s injury occurred against Brentford. Since then, they’ve lost both matches by an aggregate score of 0-4, with £4.5m midfielder Sasa Lukic joining Harrison Reed (£5.0m) in the engine room.
Elsewhere, youngster Luc De Fougerolles has featured in all three friendlies and impressed, although we don’t expect him to play a huge part in the upcoming campaign.
Further forward, Harry Wilson (£5.5m) – who ended 2022/23 in fine form – has been one of their better performers.
OPENING FIXTURES
Fulham have been handed a tricky start to the season.
The Cottagers begin the campaign away at Goodison Park. They then host Brentford before tough back-to-back visits to Arsenal and Manchester City.
They do at least meet two newly-promoted sides – Luton Town and Sheffield United – between Gameweeks 5 and 9, but it’s undoubtedly a testing start, especially for their attackers: five of their first seven opponents were top half for expected goals conceded (xGC) in 2022/23.
PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP
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