In the best possible way, Fulham are probably the least fascinating team in the Premier League this season.
The Cottagers are both too far away to compete for European qualifying and too far ahead of the dropzone to be concerned about relegation. Unlike the teams surrounding them in the table, such as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth, they do not have new management this season. It’s no surprise that Fulham has remained relatively unknown throughout 2023/24.
Marco Silva won’t mind one bit. Many predicted Fulham’s involvement in the demotion war at the start of the season. They had recently lost their long-term talisman, Aleksandar Mitrovic, to Saudi Arabia. That country’s Pro League also spent much of the summer sniffing after Silva, who was reputedly offered a massive £20 million salary to go.
The manager eventually elected to stay in west London, but it was an unnecessary distraction on the eve of the new season. Joao Palhinha’s projected move to Bayern Munich fell through on transfer deadline day.
Given such circumstances, as well as the general concern about second-season syndrome, Fulham’s struggles were not surprising. The fact that they have stayed out of the bottom three all season – the lowest they have been in the table is 15th, and that was only for two gameweeks in November – is a monument to Silva’s acumen, who does not receive enough credit for his work at Craven Cottage.
Fulham’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at the weekend means they’ve lost only one of their past five league games. Rodrigo Muniz scored a brace with two poacher’s finishes, delighting his manager, who is still hunting for a Mitrovic replacement despite Raul Jimenez’s injury troubles. That man was anticipated to be January signing Armando Broja, but Muniz has performed admirably since the Chelsea loanee arrived.
Fulham were pleasantly efficient. Bournemouth had 25 shots to the home team’s seven, although Fulham had six on target to their opponents’ four.
Typically, at least one of the Cottagers’ two wide players—the evergreen Willian and Bobby Decordova-Reid—was involved in every goal. Fulham like to attack down the flanks; only 24% of their attacks come from the center of the pitch.
Why Marco Silva deserves praise for another excellent Fulham performance
Silva prefers to see his squad perform aggressively and purposefully when not in possession. Fulham leads the division in interceptions per game (11.8), with Antonee Robinson far ahead in the individual standings (63). Palhinha has 35 interceptions, trailing just Lewis Cook (39) among Premier League midfielders.
Fulham still has areas where it can improve. They have only defeated two clubs currently ranked in the top half of the standings. Only Sheffield United have a worse away record than Silva’s team, which has also lost 11 of the last 13 games in which they have conceded the opening goal.
Overall, the Portuguese are doing an outstanding job this season. Fulham have a 10-point lead over the bottom three, allowing them to play without pressure in the coming weeks. Fulham might finish in the top half for the second time in a row, something they haven’t done in the Premier League since 2011/12.
