Game Week 38 Predictions: City to beat Fulham

Manchester City visit Fulham needing a win to secure Champions League football in Pep Guardiola’s worst season; Fulham aim to finish strong at home.

In Kevin De Bruyne's farewell game, can Fulham rain on City's party? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Fulham vs Manchester City

Craven Cottage

4:00pm

It’s the final hurrah for Manchester City; they have lost everything, and if there’s anything left to salvage from the worst season ever under Pep Guardiola, it’s this fixture, from which they must get something.

There’s an advantage on Manchester City’s side in the form of goal difference, as they currently lead in that regard against Chelsea, Villa and Newcastle, who can all go level with the Citizens if all Pep Guardiola’s side picks from this game is a draw, but do they want to leave anything to chance?

Fulham’s season is 9th, and that is if Brentford doesn’t win on the final day; however, it’s been a great season for Marco Silva and his lads. The Lilywhites can look back at the season with pride; they held their own and ruffled feathers, and they should be going into the long break with a sense of accomplishment.

It will be fun and really huge to close the season on a high, especially with a home fixture against the former champions. They have nothing to lose, to be honest, but with Palace and Bournemouth breathing down their necks for a top ten finish, this might be tougher for City than you think.

There’s not a lot to analyse in this fixture. It is important for Manchester City to pick up something, at the very least, to guarantee Champions League football, which would help them to negotiate from a position of strength. City needs this more than Fulham.

Some players have had important roles to play for Fulham this season, from Bernd Leno in goal to Antonee Robinson at left back and a couple of brilliant moments for their wingers – Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson. The Lilywhites need to build on this core next season.

For Manchester City, they have a huge summer in front of them. After adding Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush, amongst others, in January, they have lots of players bidding them farewell this summer; they need to recruit big.

For this game, Erling Haaland must find ways to return to scoring form; he hasn’t been amongst the goals since coming back from injury, and with Kevin De Bruyne saying goodbye finally, Haaland can use his final balls to shine at Fulham.

Verdict: City to win.