Manchester City have risen above Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-0 victory against Fulham in Saturday's early kickoff at Craven Cottage.
The victory was City's seventh in a row in the league, while Fulham have now lost each of their last eight in the top flight to remain in 19th position, still 13 points from the safety of 17th spot.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's minute-by-minute live coverage of the action below.
Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the Premier League clash between Fulham and Manchester City from Craven Cottage. Fulham have lost each of their last seven in the Premier League and currently sit 19th in the table, some 13 points off the safety of 17th position. City, meanwhile, have won their last six in the top flight and know that another victory this afternoon would move them to the top of the table above Liverpool. Stay tuned!
TEAMS!
FULHAM (4-3-3): Rico; Fosu-Mensah, Chambers, Christie, Bryan; Anguissa, Le Marchand, Cairney; Sessegnon, Babel, Ayite
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Gundogan, D Silva; B Silva, Aguero, Sterling
The big team news for Fulham is the absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who misses out through injury. Mitrovic has netted 10 Premier League goals this term, but Ryan Babel will be tasked with leading the line this afternoon. Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Tom Cairney have both struggled for starts this season but are included, while Ryan Sessegnon and Floyd Ayite also make the XI.
As for Man City, Raheem Sterling returns to the XI fresh from four goals for England during the international break, while Sergio Aguero and Oleksandr Zinchenko return following the win over Swansea City in the FA Cup last time out. Leroy Sane, Riyad Mahrez and Fabian Delph all drop out for the champions; it is a very, very attacking team, which spells bad news for Fulham.
KICKOFF: Man City kick things off at Craven Cottage...
... it is a beautiful afternoon in the English capital, and there is a good atmosphere inside the stadium. Fulham could be in for a long, long 90 minutes, though, with Man City looking to return to the top of the Premier League table. Will Fulham do Liverpool a favour here?
It looks like it is a 5-3-2 for Fulham, with Chambers, Le Marchand and Christie as the three centre-backs. As expected, the away side have immediately gained control of the possession.
SAVE! Rico has to get down to keep out a strike from Aguero as City work their way into the box. Fulham just cannot seem to get out of their own half at the moment, or keep the ball.
GOAL! FULHAM 0-1 MAN CITY (BERNARDO SILVA)
And there is the breakthrough! Fulham lose it in midfield as Fosu-Mensah tries to find Cairney and Bernardo Silva picks up the ball before curling a lovely effort into the bottom corner!
SAVE! Rico has to tip a De Bruyne effort over the crossbar as the pressure continues.
SHOT! Sterling has a strike deflected wide for a corner and Fulham remain penned in.
City could be three goals ahead at this stage of the match and the pressure is just absolutely relentless. Fulham just cannot find a way out of their own box let alone their own half here.
Pass, pass, pass from City, with Fulham penned in. Babel is the furthest forward, but apart from that every player in a white shirt is behind the ball. It is bordering on the ridiculous.
Rico rises to collect a header from David Silva following another long passing exchange. You suspect that Fulham's goalkeeper will need to have a man-of-the-match performance just to keep the score down, which is an incredible thing to say in a fixture at this level.
CHANCE! Sterling has a goal-bound strike blocked as Fulham put their bodies on the line.
CHANCE! De Bruyne breaks into a one-on-one situation with Rico, but the Fulham goalkeeper is on hand to make the save. Decent stop, but De Bruyne should have done a lot better.
Much better from Fulham as Otamendi fells Cairney in a dangerous position and the home side will have the opportunity to threaten from a free kick. Can they make the most of it?
CLOSE! Cairney lifts the free kick in, and Babel's header is just wide of the post.
Much better from Fulham at the moment as they enjoy a good spell of possession.
Ayite unleashes one from distance, but Gundogan is on hand to make the block. City attempt to break, but Fosu-Mensah is across quickly and the crowd really appreciate the effort.
Normal service has been resumed with City dominating the ball once again as they look for a second, which would make it very difficult for Fulham to pick up a positive result here.
GOAL! FULHAM 0-2 MAN CITY (AGUERO)
City have their second of the match as a loose pass from Bryan releases Bernardo Silva and the Portugal international feeds Aguero, who expertly chips the ball into the far corner of the net!
PENALTY APPEAL! Big shout for a penalty as Sterling goes down inside the Fulham box under a challenge from Fosu-Mensah, but the referee is not interested. It was certainly a clumsy tackle!
Fosu-Mensah does well on the cover as City look to break the lines once again.
Ederson does well to palm clear a low cross from Sessegnon as Fulham break into a dangerous position. The home side have had a couple of decent moments here.
Otameni heads harmlessly over the crossbar following an extended period of pressure from City, who are very comfortable despite Fulham offering a threat on the counter-attack.
Fosu-Mensah was at fault for the game's first goal, but the on-loan Manchester United defender has been otherwise impressive, making a number of important interceptions.
City again break into the Fulham box, but the flag is up against Sterling. Looked very close!
Not an awful lot to report in the last few minutes as City keep the ball without really threatening to score a third. Fulham have improved after a terrible first 15 minutes, but City are well on their way to securing all the points, returning to the top of the table in the process.
Rico does well to gather under pressure from Otamendi, after a free kick had been deflected into the Argentine's path. Fulham just cannot concede a third before the break.
CLOSE! Gundogan just misses the far post with a curling effort!
There are no takers on Bryan's driven cross into the City box!
SHOT! We are into the first and only minute of added time at the end of the first period, and De Bruyne has just missed the target from distance.
HALF TIME: FULHAM 0-2 MAN CITY
So there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with City leading Fulham 2-0 courtesy of goals from Bernardo Silva and Aguero. The home side have had a couple of decent moments on the break, but the champions certainly deserve their lead at this stage.
STATISTICS! City had 60% possession in the first half, managing an incredible 18 attempts, six of which were on target. Fulham, meanwhile, had three attempts, but have failed to test Ederson. No yellow cards to report, it has not really been that type of contest to be honest.
BENCH WATCH! City boss Guardiola has an embarrassment of riches on his bench, with Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus, Mahrez, Sane and Stones all available. Fulham, meanwhile, have options in the shape of Kebano, Schurrle and Vietto, but leading scorer Mitrovic is injured.
KICKOFF: Fulham resume the action here...
... no changes from either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have alterations in mind as the second period develops.
Bryan breaks down the left before delivering a cross, but once again there are no takers. One goal back for Fulham early in the half would certainly make things interesting here.
Fulham have made a pretty decent start to the second period in terms of possession and attacking intent, with City yet to threaten. It is like the visitors are playing in second gear.
SHOT! Bit of pressure from City in the last couple of minutes and Otamendi has the chance to shoot from just inside the Fulham box, but his effort is far too high.
Fulham break clear through Ayite, who releases Sessegnon, but Walker has the pace to catch up with the teenager. Eventually the ball is delivered into the box, but Ederson punches clear.
MAN CITY SUB! Gabriel Jesus replaces Aguero for the away side.
Little over 30 minutes of the second period remaining and the score remains 2-0 City. It is almost like the away side are going through the motions at the moment here.
SAVE! Rico makes a smart save to keep out a powerful strike from Sterling.
De Bruyne flashes a free kick into the Fulham box, but Rico does well to make the clearance. The home side look to break through Cairney, but the visitors quickly regain the ball.
FULHAM SUB! Kebano replaces Ayite for the home side.
Bryan does well to come across and clear ahead of Sterling after the attacker had been released by his England teammate Walker. Still 2-0 with little over 20 minutes to play here.
YELLOW CARD! Christie (Fulham) is booked for a foul on David Silva.
FULHAM SUB! Cairney is replaced by Schurrle for the home side.
Fulham continue to defend their lines as two low crosses are cleared in quick succession.
Just a reminder that a win for City will move them above Liverpool to the top of the table with the Reds not playing until tomorrow afternoon. It is 2-0, but probably should be more.
Fulham have the chance to threaten from a free kick out on the right, but Otamendi does well to head clear under pressure from Le Marchand and actually wins a free kick in the process.
MAN CITY SUB! Fernandinho replaces De Bruyne for the away side.
Some concern over Schurrle here who has just taken the ball flush in the face.
It has not been much of a second half in terms of entertainment to be honest!
City are not overly keen to go searching for a third or a fourth at the moment, which is not a surprise when considering the amount of matches they have to come over the next few weeks.
OFF THE POST! Walker hits the post for City after breaking into the box!
Schurrle breaks into a dangerous position for the home side and eventually Kebano has a half-chance at the far post, but his weak effort was always moving wide of the post.
SHOT! Gundogan misses the Fulham crossbar from distance.
Fulham have the chance to threaten from a free kick in a dangerous area...
SAVE! ... Ederson manages to gather Schurrle's effort, which was deflected twice.
FULHAM SUB! Babel is replaced by McDonald for the home side.
MAN CITY SUB! Mahrez replaces Sterling for the away side.
Possession football from City as we head for stoppage time at Craven Cottage.
We are into the first of four additional minutes of added time here.
Possession football from City as the full-time whistle draws closer.
FULL TIME: FULHAM 0-2 MAN CITY
So there we have it. The referee brings the second period to a close with goals from Bernardo Silva and Aguero seeing City record a 2-0 win over Fulham to move to the top of the Premier League table. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for our live coverage once again.
