Fulham vs Southampton LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction

KICK-OFF! We are underway in this clash at Craven Cottage as visitors Southampton get the ball rolling. The last contest between these two sides was a Premier League fixture in May 2023, with Fulham winning 2-0 at St. Mary’s Stadium. The Cottagers are aiming to win three successive league games against Southampton for the first time.

The teams are making their way out to the pitch, the managers and players are ready, and so are the fans who have turned up in huge numbers! Fulham did the Premier League double over Southampton in 2022-23, which was the last time these two sides faced each other, having won just one of their previous nine fixtures against the Saints (D4 L4).

Interim Southampton boss Simon Rusk has made four changes to his side that lost 1-2 to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup in midweek. Ramsdale returns in goal after recovering from a finger injury. Walker-Peters, Sugawara and Armstrong also come back into the starting XI, replacing Manning, Downes, and Archer.

Silva has made five changes to his Fulham side that started in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool last weekend. Skipper Cairney is back from suspension and Lukic drops to the bench. Bassey and Castagne return in the back four, replacing Cuenca and Tete. In attack, King and Muniz are back in place of Pereira (suspension) and Jimenez.

SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: Alex McCarthy, Ryan Manning, Adam Lallana, James Bree, Cameron Archer, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ryan Fraser, Lesley Ugochukwu, Paul Onuachu.

SOUTHAMPTON (3-4-2-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Nathan Wood, Jan Bednarek, Taylor Harwood-Bellis; Kyle Walker-Peters, Flynn Downes, Joe Aribo, Yukinari Sugawara; Mateus Fernandes, Tyler Dibling; Adam Armstrong.

FULHAM SUBS: Joachim Andersen, Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore, Carlos Vinicius; Jorge Cuenca, Sasa Lukic, Steven Benda, Ryan Sessegnon, Martial Godo.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Antonee Robinson, Calvin Bassey, Issa Diop, Timothy Castagne; Tom Cairney, Sander Berge; Harry Wilson, Josh King, Alex Iwobi; Rodrigo Muniz.

Southampton confirmed the appointment of Croatian manager Ivan Juric as Russell Martin’s successor on the eve of this game. While Juric will not be in the dugout for this game, his players will be motivated to impress the new manager who will be watching keenly. The Saints, currently nine points from safety at the bottom of the Premier League table, were beaten by Liverpool in midweek in the Carabao Cup and have lost six of their last seven games. However, a much-improved showing in their first game since Martin’s sacking, under interim boss Simon Rusk, meant they put up a good fight in a 1-2 defeat against the highly in-form Liverpool. They will need to put in a similar performance and more at Craven Cottage this afternoon as the Saints have the lowest points tally on the road so far this season (one point) and have not won an away league game since February 2023. Full-back Kyle Walker-Peters should be fit despite suffering a knock before the Liverpool game, while James Bree, who was withdrawn during that game, is a doubt.

Marco Silva’s Fulham side goes into this game having won only one of their last five Premier League games. However, what’s hidden in that stat is that they have snatched points off Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and leaders Liverpool during those five games. The eventful 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield was Fulham’s latest game, during which they twice surrendered a one-goal advantage against a Liverpool side down to 10 men early in the contest. Fulham enter this game in 10th spot, but could end the gameweek as high as sixth; such is the competitive nature of the league table at the moment. While the Cottagers have kept just the solitary clean sheet in 10 games, no other team currently in the Premier League has scored in more consecutive games than Fulham’s 15. Kenny Tete, \who suffered an injury in the Liverpool game, has joined Harrison Reed and Reiss Nelson on the sidelines. While Tom Cairney and Calvin Bassey return after serving suspensions, Andreas Pereira will miss this game after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.