League Cup holders Manchester City play in the fourth round of the competition on Thursday, when they face fellow Premier League side Fulham at the Etihad Stadium. The two teams have already met in Manchester in the Premier League in September, and the Citizens recorded an easy 3-0 victory with goals from Leroy Sane, David Silva and Raheem Sterling. That was the sixth consecutive win for Manchester City against Fulham, and the Cottagers only managed to score in two of those six games. The last time Fulham defeated Manchester City was in 2009, when they recorded a 3-1 away win.
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions and have won the last three. Moreover, they have not conceded any goals in their last four competitive matches. They played at Tottenham on Monday, a tough test for the league leaders, but they passed it with
a 1-0 victory thanks to an early goal from Riyad Mahrez. In the previous round of the League Cup the Citizens won 3-0 at Oxford United, despite having rested some first-team players. Fabian Delph, Ilkay Gundogan, Danilo and Eliaquim Mangala could all return from their spells on the sidelines due to injuries, but Claudio Bravo still has a long way until his return.
Fulham have lost their last four Premier League matches and have dropped into the relegation zone as a result of that poor run. Last week they were hammered at home by Bournemouth, the match ended 3-0 and the Cottagers only managed to send one shot on target. Their last victory was in the third round of the League Cup, when they won 3-1 at Millwall. Manager Slavisa Jokanovic will most likely make a few changes to his side after the defeat against Bournemouth last weekend. Joe Bryan is injured for the away side, but Tom Cairney has returned to action last weekend and might be given a spot in the starting eleven this time.
Probable line-ups:
Man City: Muric - Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Delph - B. Silva, Fernandinho, De Bruyne - Mahrez, Jesus, Sane
Fulham: Bettinelli - Fosu-Mensah, Odoi, Mawson, Marchand - Vietto, Seri, Anguissa, Sessegnon - Cairney - Mitrovic
My prediction: Manchester City to win 5-0, the Citizens won't be bothered by Fulham in this match.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Man City win - 1.10
Draw - 11.00
Fulham win - 34.00