When playing a team who press as insatiably as Manchester City do, you run the risk of being eaten alive if your plan of playing out from the back is too predictable.
You may as well draw your opponents a map to the ball in that case, which is practically what Brighton did two weeks ago against City. They tried to play their usual way by passing through the middle from their own box and it backfired spectacularly. They lost 4-0.
The worry for Fulham is their approach is very similar to Brighton’s and if they try to pass through the middle at Craven Cottage on Saturday, they too could find themselves crushed by Pep Guardiola’s side.
When analysing Fulham’s last home game — a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace — there was a noticeable pattern emerging whenever they tried to play out from the back. It involved the centre backs, Issa Diop and Calvin Bassey, splitting and goalkeeper Bernd Leno filling the gap between them.
Diop and Bassey would look to punch passes into midfielders Harrison Reed and Joao Palhinha in front of them. Reed and Palhinha would then try to wrap their foot around the ball and pick out full backs Timothy Castagne and Antonee Robinson, who both pushed high and wide on the flanks.
Fulham face the ultimate challenge of taking on Manchester City this weekend and may need to change their approach
Pep Guardiola’s side are the ultimate passers and pressers and could eat the home side alive
The Cottagers may need to go more direct than usual if they are to taste success on Saturday
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It was all too predictable and even Palace, who are not renowned for their pressing, enjoyed one of their most productive days when it came to winning possession.
The only time this plan varied was when Diop or Bassey passed to Leno, who would try to send a long ball into Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
Fulham have talented players. The statistics say Palhinha is the Premier League’s top tackler and Robinson its best interceptor.
The industrious Alex Iwobi gets through a great deal of work by dropping inside to join the midfield, so Andreas Pereira can stay higher up the pitch close to Rodrigo Muniz, who has shown his talent as a lone striker this year.
But against City, you have to wonder if Fulham need to do what Brighton did not and try something different if they want to avoid a humbling.
Marco Silva is one of a large group of Premier League managers whose philosophy is to play attractive football and passing from back to front is a big part of that.
But when facing a team who are so superior at that side of the game — and City are the ultimate passers and pressers — you might be better served adopting an alternative approach, such as by going more direct into your forwards to lessen the possibility of losing possession near your own box, or at least varying how you play out from the back.
That is the tactical puzzle for Silva, who will have spent this week making sure his players are not pulling on their flip-flops just yet.
Marco Silva will have spent this week making sure his players are fully focused on the game
He is a hard taskmaster — as emphasised by the triple substitution he made after 33 minutes at Nottingham Forest — and will have made it clear he wants to sign off their last home game of the season with an impressive display.
Getting a result against City can be the hardest job in football, especially when they are engaged in a run-in such as this. If Fulham are to spring a surprise, they may need to show they have something new up their sleeves.
