Newcastle United have doubts over a couple of key players heading into Saturday’s trip to Craven Cottage, but Fulham will be missing one of their players of the season so far this weekend.
Portuguese international Joao Palhinha picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign in their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest, meaning he’s now suspended for our trip to the capital.
Aleksandar Mitrovic – who picked up a knock of his own in Serbia’s Nations League win over Sweden last week – has been Fulham’s star man so far, but Palhinha has transformed Marco Silva’s midfield since arriving from Sporting Lisbon over the summer.
He’s made more tackles (32) than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season and the most pressures (156) in the division, helping Fulham concede fewer shots per game (13.4) than the likes of Spurs (15) and Manchester United (14.7).
After three wins and two draws from their opening seven games this season, the Cottagers sit 6th in the Premier League table and unbeaten at home, but the stats suggest Palhinha could be a big miss.
Hopefully we can make the most of his absence, although it remains to be seen if Bruno Guimaraes or Alexander Isak will be fit after returning to Tyneside early. In better news, however, Callum Wilson is expected to return from a hamstring layoff.
