Fulham vs Manchester City Half-Time Update

Sunday’s 4pm kick off in the Premier League comes from Craven Cottage, where Fulham find themselves 3-0 down against a superior Manchester City.

The biggest surprise in either line-up is the rare start for 23-year-old striker Jo. The £18 million, out-of-favour Brazilian is one of five players who were brought to Manchester City by then-manager Mark Hughes, who faces up against his former employers for the first time since his dismissal. Jo is partnered up front by fit-again Tevez, and David Silva. City also see Joe Hart return between the sticks, as Given drops to the bench.

With Dembele out of action, Fulham line up with Andrew Johnson as the out-and-out striker, supported by Clint Dempsey. The London side are also able to recall Carlos Salcido and Chris Baird to their starting line-up.

The first goal of the game came early on; after a battle with defender Salcido, hard-working Tevez shot low into the corner, his 8th league goal of the season. The Argentinean, who is being watched from the stands by Diego Maradona, joins Bolton’s Johan Elmander and Newcastle’s Andy Carroll as the top scorers so far in this Premier League season. Tevez is 9/2 to claim the 4th City goal, after the break.

Constant pressure played off for City, who went two goals up after 31 minutes, a 22-yard Zabaleta shot arrowed unstoppably into the net. The third came just a few minutes later, a shot from inside the box from Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure, which well and truly silenced the home fans.

Hughes may call upon past experience, and give his players the hairdryer treatment at half-time, much like the Welshman’s former manager Sir Alex Ferguson. A good response from his players after the break could see Fulham get the first goal, odds of which can be found as good as 7/4.

Fulham would normally consider Craven Cottage as a tough ground for away teams to visit, however today has not been their day so far; should this continue to be Man City’s day, they are 17/2 to complete the match 5-0.

FFC: Schwarzer, Salcido, Hangeland, Baird, Hughes, Murphy, Duff, Etuhu, Dempsey, Davies, Johnson

Substitutes: Stockdale, Kelly, Pantsil, Gera, Dikgacoi, Greening, Kamara

MCFC: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, K. Toure, Barry, Silva, De Jong, Y. Toure, Jo, Tevez

Substitutes: Given, Boyata, Milner, Wright-Phillips, A. Johnson, Vieira, Adebayor