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Comfortable Night Expected for Manchester City against Fulham

Manchester City face Fulham on Thursday night the in Carabao Cup, with a place in the last eight available to the winner. Both teams have bigger goals ahead this season, for City the year is all about winning back to back Premier League titles, as well as competing well in the Champions League. With those two competitions taking priority, the Carabao Cup is going to take a back seat, but if City have the chance to win silverware, then they are sure to take it.

For Fulham, their entire season will revolve around survival in the Premier League. They are currently in the bottom three, and the aim is to get out and away from there. The Carabao Cup is a distraction for them, and one they could probably do without as they find out just how tough the Premier League is. Having said that, a win away at Manchester City would certainly bring a huge boost in confidence to the club, and that is something they could use going forward in the Premier League.

Both teams would probably prefer to not be playing here, with big games coming up in the next couple of weeks for them. However, whoever does get through will get into the quarter finals, and that means they are just two steps away from playing in a final at Wembley, and potentially lifting a piece of silverware.

Do Manchester City Need European Success?

We saw Manchester City completely dominate the Premier League last season, they were fantastic and no one could get anywhere close to them. Right now, Liverpool and Chelsea are with them at the top of the table, although if things go to plan the Premier League will be a two horse race between City and Liverpool. Whether Liverpool can actually overturn City remains to be seen, but they have looked impressive so far, and could give them a good run for the title with a bit of luck.

With few challengers for the Premier League title, and no challengers last season, do Manchester City need to start gauging their success each season on how they have performed in Europe? If Liverpool struggle to keep up with the pace, which is a possibility, then it is likely that City will be able to stroll to success in the Premier League once more. Does that mean they have had a successful season, or do they need to do more?

If there has been one thing missing from Manchester City’s resume over the past decade then it has been a long run in the Champions League. City have not come close to winning Europe’s premier club competition, and that is something they have to change, if they want to be considered as one of the best teams in the world. There is no doubt that City have the quality to compete with anyone on the continent, but they appear to be lacking the mental strength to do so.

Boss Pep Guardiola knows what it takes to succeed in Europe, and he has to bring that to Manchester. After losing their opening Champions League group game, City have looked much better since and they will be looking to build on that as the group stage comes to an end. But this is no longer needed, they have to put in those good performances as the competition reaches the final stages, and getting to at least the semi finals should be their aim this season, so show they are capable of eventually lifting the title.

Do Fulham Need to do More Than Just Survive This Season?

During the summer when people spoke about the three clubs that had been promoted into the Premier League, the focus was all on Wolves. They had won the Championship with ease, and spent a lot of money both last season and this summer to get the squad in that they wanted. That took a lot of the limelight off Fulham, but they spent over £100 million this summer, and should be we expecting more from them because of that?

When a team is promoted from the Championship, their aim during the first season is simply to survive and find their feet in the Premier League. However, when a team spends £100 million to strengthen their team when they are promoted, perhaps we should expect more from them. Fulham are so far yet to show anything other than that they will be a bottom six club this season, they could survive, but they could also be relegated. After spending £100 million, although the fans will be thrilled they are in the Premier League, should they also be disappointed, because they aren’t doing better right now considering the money thrown around.

The one thing that will be interesting is if Fulham go on to spend more money in January, which is a possibility if they are struggling towards the bottom of the table. They seem happy to throw money at the situation, but when you are spending so much, results are required to make it worthwhile. Wolves may have grabbed the headlines this sumer, but Fulham also spent big and so far they are yet to see much for it, something which may force them to spend even more in January.

Manchester City vs Fulham Betting Tips

I expect we will see Manchester City make a number of changes ahead of this game, but I also think we will see the same from Fulham too, as just like City they have bigger things to think about in the near future. This is likely to lead to us seeing a game between fringe players, and if that is the case then the Manchester City squad is far deeper, and they can take advantage of that by winning this game with ease.

The value in this game appears to be on City to win with ease, and using the handicap line to put a bet on that. The -2 handicap line has Manchester City priced up at 1.71, and this line requires City to win by three games or more. With the potential for a weakened Fulham team going out for this game, that looks to be the bet here, City can keep things tight at the back, and with many different attacking players to choose from, goals won’t be a problem for them.

This isn’t the most important game of the season for City, but they will want to make the quarter finals, and when they are that close to a trophy, we are likely to see them take this competition a little more seriously and field better teams.