Fulham vs Luton Preview
Still without a home win in the 2023-24 Premier League season, Fulham seek to right those wrongs when they welcome newly-promoted Luton Town to Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Marco Silva's seething side fell to a 5-1 humbling at the hands of champions Manchester City two weekends ago, while the Hatters' losing streak continued with a 2-1 home beating at the hands of West Ham United.
Nothing less than a Manchester mauling was to be expected when Fulham paid a visit to the Etihad Stadium before the international break, but Marco Silva's side felt particularly hard done by against the treble winners, having gone behind just before the break to a contentious Nathan Ake header.
While Manuel Akanji was in an offside position as he raised his leg to let the ball sail under his foot, it was deemed that the defender was not interfering with play, and any attempts to galvanise his bemused team at the break did not work out as intended for the Cottagers coach.
Tim Ream had initially drawn the visitors level after Julian Alvarez's opener, but a second-half hat-trick from the indomitable Erling Haaland condemned Fulham to a chastening defeat, leaving them with just the one win to shout about from their opening four Premier League fixtures.
The Cottagers found themselves occupying a mediocre 13th-placed standing heading into the international hiatus, and their drubbing against Man City means that this weekend's hosts are one of only two teams to have shipped at least 10 goals in the current Premier League campaign, the other being basement side Burnley (11).
Even when Silva led his side to a 1-0 victory over Everton on the opening day, the overall consensus was that the Toffees deserved more from the match, and no clean sheets at home since February 11 will offer Luton some hope of belatedly igniting their survival charge.