Fulham enter this international break down in 19th, matching last-placed Tottenham Hotspur’s two points, but their upcoming fixtures are about to swing positively.
It’s something that proactive Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers might want to pile in on.
Let’s try and find the best way to do this.
SEASON SO FAR
Key names like Marco Silva, Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson (£6.2m) all departed Fulham over the summer, causing many to label them as relegation candidates.
Sure enough, life under inexperienced head coach Alvaro Arbeloa began with three straight defeats, all by a single goal.
Yet the Cottagers responded by drawing 0-0 at Liverpool, and would’ve beaten Manchester United had it not been for Matheus Cunha‘s (£7.9m) late equaliser. It means they’re feeling fairly positive during the long break.
FIXTURES
That’s partly because they’re about to face the three promoted sides in consecutive Gameweeks: Ipswich Town, Hull City and Coventry City.
Whilst these have a solid five wins from 15 between them, it still allows Fulham to top our Fixture Ticker for the next three, four and five rounds of top-flight action.
In fact, the late November trip to Manchester City is their only ‘bad’ one until Gameweek 18…
So, perhaps their modestly-priced players could be worth a go.
Right now, the sole Fulham individual owned by over 4% of managers is the not-yet-used Jonah Kusi-Asare, chosen as £4.5m bench fodder:
THE FULHAM DEFENCE
As a unit, the Cottagers are leaking the most big chances (20) and have the third-highest tallies for conceding expected goals (xGC, 9.12) and penalty-area shots (55).
Conceding three times to Crystal Palace’s left-backs wasn’t a good look, and neither was letting Manchester United rack up 29 attempts – though just two were big ones.
Not many non-promoted starting goalkeepers have an FPL price of £4.5m, but Bernd Leno does.
The defence in front of him lacks attacking returns – just three assists shared between Timothy Castagne (£4.5m) and Calvin Bassey (£4.5m). So the 34-year-old’s regular save points (four so far) could be the best route into Fulham’s backline.
Especially when the team is low on defensive contribution (DefCon) triumphs: five in total, one per match.
However, 0.03%-owned centre-back David Affengruber (£4.5m) has stepped in for Joachim Andersen (£5.0m) during the last couple of games and grabbed DefCon both times.
Above: Fulham defenders sorted by DefCon success rate (DC %) in 2026/27
Affengruber’s 2025/26 Elche campaign averaged 10.03 per match.
Managers already satisfied with their goalkeepers could buy either Affengruber, Castagne or Antonee Robinson (£4.5m). The left-back assisted 10 times in 2024/25, and even scored a penalty back in May. We’re yet to discover who Arbeloa wants to take them, now that Jimenez isn’t around.
However, given his DefCon potential, Affengruber is probably the way to go if you want to invest in the Fulham backline.
THE FULHAM ATTACK
More encouraging for fans is Fulham’s attacking data. They place fourth for box shots (55), joint-seventh for overall attempts (72) and eighth for expected goals (xG, 7.74).
Gonzalo Garcia (£6.0m) is one of several appealing centre-forwards costing between £5.5m and £6.0m.
The Spaniard has put only two of his 13 overall shots in the box on target (see below) and he is currently the league’s second-worst finisher when looking at the quality of his efforts (Shooting Goals Added/SGA, -1.40), but there is at least a high volume of central attempts.
Josh King (£5.5m) meanwhile seems to have Arbeloa’s full faith.
The team’s top FPL points scorer (24) boasts 11 close-range shots, while just three players across the league exceed his seven on target (below).
A scorer past Chelsea and Palace, King could become a differential gem.
Elsewhere, Alex Iwobi (£5.4m) and Oscar Bobb (£5.5m) lead the way for creativity, being the team’s best for expected assists (xA) and setting up chances.
Iwobi is on the latest ‘Assists Imminent’ table, having provided a match-high five attempts versus Man United. Over the previous four seasons, he’s averaged 9.75 attacking returns and 121.75 points.
Interestingly, while Iwobi has never taken a Premier League penalty, he did convert one in pre-season.
That said, from an attacking perspective, Garcia and King appear to be the pick of the bunch at Fulham.
