Fulham welcome Hoffenheim to Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon as both sides play their final pre-season friendly before their domestic campaigns get underway.

Marco Silva's side suffered a 2-0 defeat against London rivals Chelsea in Maryland on Sunday, while the German club drew 2-2 with Rangers last time out.

Match preview

Fulham kicked off their pre-season preparations in the United States with an eventful 3-2 victory over Brentford, courtesy of goals from Harry Wilson, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Carlos Vinicius.

However, the Cottagers endured a disappointing end to the Premier League Summer Series, suffering a 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa before losing to Chelsea by the same scoreline last time out.

It is also worth noting that Fulham registered a solitary attempt on target against Aston Villa and Chelsea, underlining the importance of key striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has not featured in pre-season as he attempts to engineer a move.

After gaining promotion from the Championship in 2021-22, Fulham enjoyed a hugely impressive comeback campaign in the Premier League, finishing seven points inside the top half and nine points shy of the European places.

With Mitrovic seemingly heading for the Craven Cottage exit and Marco Silva attracting interest from Saudi Arabia, it could be difficult for the West London outfit to build on last season's achievements.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, started their pre-season groundwork with a 3-1 victory over Astoria Walldorf before suffering successive 2-1 defeats against Elversberg and French side Strasbourg.

Die Kraichgauer returned to winning ways with a 4-2 victory over Feyenoord, dispatching the reigning Dutch champions before playing out a 2-2 draw with Rangers last Saturday.

Having recorded their lowest Bundesliga ranking since 2015-16 last term – finishing only three points clear of the bottom three in 12th place – Hoffenheim will be determined to hit the ground running in 2023-24.

Die Kraichgauer endured a mammoth 14-game winless run in the league between October and March, suffering 12 defeats along the way, with Pellegrino Matarazzo replacing Andre Breitenreiter as manager in February.

Matarazzo eventually guided the club to safety, overseeing five wins, two draws and three losses across the final 10 matches, but Hoffenheim must improve if they are to avoid another relegation scare this season.

Team News

With Mitrovic out of the picture, Carlos Vinicius is expected to continue in attack for Fulham, although new signing Raul Jimenez could lead the line on Saturday after arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Cottagers look set to be without the injured duo of Joao Palhinha (shoulder) and Tim Ream (arm) for their final pre-season friendly, although Andreas Pereira and Tom Cairney are back in action following spells on the treatment table.

As for Hoffenheim, they will be without 18-year-old midfielder Umut Tohumcu (ankle) and 20-year-old striker Fisnik Asllani (ligament) this weekend.

Attila Szalai, Maruis Bulter, Julian Justvan and Florian Grillitsch are all expected to feature as Matarazzo aims to integrate the new signings into the squad, while experienced goalkeeper Oliver Baumann will likely captain the side.

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Robinson, Diop, Bassey, Tete; Reed, Lukic, Wilson, Cairney, Decordova-Reid; Vinicius

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kaderabek, Brooks, Vogt, Kabak; Bebou, Grillitsch, Stiller, Promel; Bulter, Kramaric

We say: Fulham 1-1 Hoffenheim

Given that Fulham registered two shots on target across their recent losses to Chelsea and Aston Villa, the hosts could struggle to create goalscoring opportunities on Saturday, although they should be able to avoid defeat against Hoffenheim.

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