Following publication of the 2024/25 Premier League fixture list this week, we take a deeper dive into Fulham’s matches this coming season.
The opening night trip to Old Trafford is a throwback to our first ever Premier League game. That fixture didn’t kick-off the PL season, but it was televised, as the Whites impressed against the reigning champions.
Louis Saha stunned the home crowd with a beautiful lob from Sean Davis’ pass with under four minutes played, but a trademark David Beckham free-kick had us level at the break.
Saha needed even less time in the second half to restore our lead, but two goals in three minutes from United debutant Ruud van Nistelrooy meant our efforts went unrewarded.
Championship winners Leicester City provide our first home opposition – a fixture which we’ve lost just once in the Premier League era. We most recently defeated the Foxes 5-3 just over a year ago, a game which saw us become the first side in PL history to have two players aged 32 or older both notch a brace in the same game, thanks to Tom Cairney and Willian’s doubles that afternoon.
Portman Road hasn’t been as alien a ground to us as it will be to most in the top flight. Further to our two Carabao Cup wins since the turn of the decade, we also travelled to Suffolk on four occasions during our time in the Championship, winning the most recent couple.
Two home games in a row then throw up contrasting memories from last season. West Ham’s trip to the Cottage was one of the highlights of 2023/24, but Newcastle’s visit was one of missed opportunity, while we’ll hope the subsequent away days to the City Ground and Etihad are more prosperous than last year, too.
Fulham – Aston Villa at the Cottage is next up, and fans of a certain age will remember a dramatic game back in 2005 when Lee Clark scored a stoppage time equaliser, after Edwin van der Sar had saved two Juan Pablo Angel penalties.
“The manager made it very clear that he wasn't happy with the fact he took the second penalty,” Villa coach Roy Aitken said afterwards. “He thought he should have stepped aside and let someone else take it. Basically he has told him that he will not take another penalty this season.”
Having been our bogey ground for so long, Goodison Park has been good to us of late. After breaking the curse with a 2-0 win in 2021, we won there three times in one calendar year in 2023, most recently in our Carabao Cup Quarter-Final penalty victory.
Two London derbies follow, as we entertain Brentford before heading South-East to Crystal Palace – a fixture we’ve taken five points from in our last three visits.
Three of the next four fixtures are at home – Tottenham is away – against sides we took maximum points from at the Cottage last term. Wolves was a dramatic evening at the Cottage with three penalties, Brighton one of our more comfortable afternoons, and the fact that Arsenal missed out on the title by two points makes our win over them in SW6 all the more impressive.
Liverpool away follows, a match we played well in twice last season across two competitions but narrowly lost each. Promoted Southampton travel to the Cottage for our final outing before Christmas, almost two years on from their last visit, when João Palhinha headed in a late winner on a soaking wet New Year’s Eve.
It’s a nice easy trip for fans on Boxing Day, as we travel across Fulham to Stamford Bridge. It’s the second time our neighbours have hosted us on December 26th – the first was a hard fought 3-2 loss having battled back from two down back in 2005, before Clint Dempsey netted in a 1-1 draw six years later.
We’re at home either side of the turn of the year. After seeing out 2024 against Bournemouth, Ipswich make their first Premier League appearance at Craven Cottage since 2001, when Barry Hayles and Jermaine Wright were the scorers in a 1-1 draw. The Tractor Boys were also our first opponents of 2018 – a remarkable evening which saw Ryan Sessegnon and Aboubakar Kamara score four goals between them in just eight second half minutes.
FA Cup weekend follows, but then it’s two away trips in five days to grounds that we won at on our previous visits. Our 2-0 triumph at London Stadium was very recent, while a sole Aleksandar Mitrović strike and a Bernd Leno masterclass earned us a slender win at the King Power at the beginning of 2023.
We’ve played well against Manchester United at home in both our games under Marco Silva, but were cruelly denied any points by last gasp winners on each occasion.
Newcastle away is normally in December or January these days, so our February 1st trip up north makes a change. It’s the first time the fixture has been played outside of the aforementioned months since 2017, which coincidentally is the last time we beat them. Tom Cairney hit a worldie before a 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon grabbed a brace to secure a 3-1 win over the eventual Championship title winners at St James’ Park.
Next up is Forest at the Cottage, a fixture we bagged five in last year, before we host Palace on home turf a week later.
It’s then back-to-back away matches, with Molinex followed by a trip to the Amex, a ground we’ve never lost at in the Premier League.
It’s then Spurs at home and Arsenal away, fixtures with the North London sides which were highly prosperous last term.
A late Palhinha strike earned 10-man Fulham a point at the Emirates at the start of the season, while we later become the first team to stop Tottenham from scoring in a game under Ange Posteglou when the boys delivered arguably their performance of the campaign in a 3-0 victory.
With Liverpool at home following, that spell marks one of our tougher periods of the season, with subsequent meetings away to Bournemouth and at home to Chelsea no walks in Bishop’s Park either.
That SW6 derby fixture comes exactly 19 years and one month since our first Premier League victory against them, on Saturday 19th April.
Our last two trips to St Mary’s have involved relegated sides. The Whites were already down when we were beaten there three years ago, while our 2-1 win on our last visit sent Saints down.
That’s followed by another away at Villa Park, before we host Everton in a fixture that has ended goalless the last two seasons.
Brentford away and Manchester City at home were two of our final three fixtures last season, and there’s some symmetry this time around.
Both games are on Sundays, with the Bees match on Sunday 18th May due to the FA Cup Final the day before, before we close the campaign out against City at the Cottage a week later.
