Crystal Palace travel across London to face a Fulham side fresh off the back of consecutive Premier League wins against newly promoted Coventry and Hull. Those wins were much needed for Álvaro Arbeloa’s side, the Spaniard coming under intense scrutiny after a difficult start to the season. 

Palace had been a part of that tricky run of form, when they came from behind twice to beat the Cottagers 3-2 earlier in the season. Now, it’s Palace that needs a turn in fortune. 

It’s now four games on the run since Palace last won a game, and even then, they were fortunate to beat Nottingham Forest. Since then, Pierre Sage’s side have improved in terms of their defensive solidity, but instead have faced new issues. 

In the last two games against Beşiktaş and Newcastle, Palace have only faced four shots on target, a stark improvement from recent weeks. The problem was that all four of those shots went in. 

Now, Pierre Sage is under the spotlight, and reports circulated earlier this week suggesting that the French manager has been given until the game against Spurs on Saturday to save his job. 

A win against Fulham would go some way to helping his cause, but how are Fulham seeing this matchup? 

We spoke to Roundtable’s Fulham correspondent Tom Masters to get the rundown on what Palace fans can expect. 

There’s been a stark improvement in Fulham’s performances since their defeat to Palace, but what changes have seen that happen?

“When Fulham last met Crystal Palace, they were defensively naive and lacked any sort of composure. Since that 2-3 defeat for the Cottagers, they have picked up eight points from five games, after losing their first three and have stemmed the flow of goals conceded.”

Palace have had, by some distance, the worst defensive record in the Premier League so far this season, and whilst the hope is that they can continue their improvements, they face a side who have seemingly managed to stop that issue at its root. 

“Fulham shipped seven goals in their first three games, but have now conceded only three in their last five, all of which have come beyond the 88th minute. After initially being the easiest team to play against in the Premier League, Fulham look to have become far more dogged in recent weeks.”

One of the reasons for their defensive progression has been the inclusion of summer signing David Affengruber, who Palace had been softly linked with prior to the Whites securing his services. Other tactical tweaks have also played a role too. 

“It’s no coincidence that Fulham have made two main adjustments to their playing style and that results have improved. The Cottagers’ full-backs are no longer so high up the field that the defensive line is in disarray, and as a result, you have seen defensive improvement. It’s also very clever that since David Affengruber came into the backline and Shea Charles into the midfield, Fulham have become an altogether much harder team to play against.”

Charles was another player on Palace’s radar, but Fulham slipped in and signed the Northern Ireland international from Southampton before other clubs could propose deals. 

In recent years, Fulham have not been very successful in cup competitions. They’ve still never won a major trophy, and there was frustration within the fanbase under Marco Silva that they never reached the latter stages of the domestic tournaments. 

So will Fulham be looking to prioritise a deep cup run under Arbeloa, who, despite his success as a player, has not won a trophy in his senior management career. 

“If you had asked that question before the wins over Hull and Coventry, I would have said that all eggs need to be in the ‘surviving in the Premier League’ basket. But, having got those two victories, Fulham are now in a fairly unique position of being able to reach a cup quarter-final with relative ease, and having not left London either.”

Such is the way of the Premier League this season, just a couple of wins on the bounce can do huge things for sides looking to climb the table. 

“Under Marco Silva, it was always a frustration that Fulham were not able to reach a cup semi-final or go beyond, and there were large elements of jealousy when looking at Palace’s success. Circumstances allow this to be the perfect time for Fulham to give the cups a proper go this season.”

Palace have fielded a largely changed side, and Fulham have gone relatively strong, so will be hopeful of a place in the next round.