After a rollercoaster 5-4 loss to Manchester City in midweek, Fulham face a Crystal Palace side who have made their best start to a Premier League season. The hosts will be hoping for a less chaotic defensive performance after their first top-flight match to produce nine or more goals since February 1968. BBC Sport looks at two key players ahead of Sunday’s fixture (16:30 GMT).
Super Samuel
For long periods on Tuesday, it looked as if Manchester City were cruising to a comfortable win at Craven Cottage, as they opened up a 3-1 half-time lead. That was when AC Milan loanee Samuel Chukwueze was introduced for midfielder Sasa Lukic in a clear statement of attacking intent by head coach Marco Silva.
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It was perhaps a surprise Chukwueze did not start after an impressive performance in the win at Tottenham. He provided the assist for Kenny Tete’s goal after just four minutes there, when he went past two players before laying it off.
Chukwueze almost got off the mark for Fulham in that game, rattling the post with a curled effort from outside the box, but he compensated for that with a quick-fire double against City.
Despite operating on limited minutes, his contribution is impressive. He’s currently averaging a goal or assist every 46 minutes in the Premier League this season, scoring three and assisting two, and his stats per 90 minutes put him among the most influential players in the division.
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[BBC]
Marauding Munoz
Crystal Palace gave a resilient display at Burnley in midweek, with Daniel Munoz scoring the only goal of the game to put them on 23 points. While it was a fixture Palace might have been expected to win, the home side had the advantage of rest. It was Burnley’s 16th match of the season compared to Palace’s 23rd.
Munoz has once more proved to be a key attacking outlet for Palace. No defender has more Premier League goal involvements this season and he’s joint second for most shots behind Riccardo Calafiori. Only striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta has been involved in more open-play sequences that ended in a shot for Palace this season.
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[BBC]
Munoz may be relied upon again for attacking output in Sunday’s match, given Mateta’s poor record in this fixture. The French striker has never scored a Premier League goal in his five appearances against Fulham.
