Fulham and Southampton are heading in totally different directions as the Cottagers are flying high and the Saints have hit rock bottom.
STREAM LIVE FULHAM v SOUTHAMPTON
Marco Silva’s Fulham secured a big win at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day as they are on 22 points and the newly promoted side have ambitions of pushing for European qualification. Given their solid foundation — USMNT duo Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson are at the heart of it — and the quality service they get to Aleksandar Mitrovic, a top 10 finish looks very possible.
As for Southampton, well, new boss Nathan Jones knows how big of a job he has now. Their 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton on Boxing Day saw Saints slump to the bottom of the table. They are all over the place after Ralph Hasenhuttl was fired in early November and they badly need reinforcements in January if they’re going to get themselves out of this mess as they’ve won just three of their 16 games this season. Despite that they are just two points from safety but they need to pick up wins, fast, and have a pivotal stretch of games coming up.
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Here’s everything you need for Fulham vs Southampton.
How to watch Fulham vs Southampton live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, Saturday (Dec. 31)
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines
Fulham’s fine start to the season just keeps on going and it all points to one thing: brilliant recruitment. After bouncing back to the Premier League at the first attempt, they made key signings in the summer and didn’t overdo it this time. The focus has been on quality, not quantity. Andreas Pereira, Joao Palhinha, Bernd Leno, Issa Diop and Willian have all added class and experience and they’re a balanced side and every single player knows exactly what their role is.
Southampton’s Nathan Jones doesn’t know what his best lineup or formation is and the negative vibes are swirling around the South Coast club. They are struggling to score goals, keep making silly mistakes at the back and after years of just doing enough to stay in the Premier League on a tight budget, their squad is looking extremely thin. Their owners Sport Republic (who arrived in January 2022) need to spend big in the upcoming window to provide Jones with a forward, center back and creative midfielder who can help push them up the league and out of the relegation zone.
In-form players to keep an eye on
Tim Ream has been excellent for Fulham this season, was brilliant for the USMNT at the World Cup and the 35-year-old scored his first Premier League goal against Crystal Palace last time out. There are so many players excelling for the Cottagers and Mitrovic is leading their hopes of a top 10 finish as only Ivan Toney, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have scored more goals than him in the PL this season.
Southampton’s captain James Ward-Prowse scored their goal against Brighton but he has been struggling for form all season long. Che Adams is doing his best to lead the line, while young winger Sam Edozie has been excellent and looks like a real talent. Young goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has been struggling for form too.
Fulham team news, injuries, lineup options
Manor Solomon remains out after suffering a serious knee injury on his debut but is close to a return, while Neeskens Kebano is out after rupturing his Achilles. Layvin Kurzawa is still out. Harry Wilson and Daniel James are good options off the bench.
Southampton team news, injuries, lineup options
Who knows who will start for Saints? Tino Livramento is almost back after his ACL injury in April and when he returns, that will be a huge boost. Romeo Lavia is back on the bench after a knee injury and the young Belgian midfielder has been Southampton’s best player so far this season. Juan Larios and Theo Walcott are both struggling with respective hip and calf injuries, while goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has an ankle injury but could come back in soon when he is fit.
Fulham vs Southampton, live! Score, updates, how to watch, stream, videos originally appeared on NBCSports.com