On the hunt for a fourth straight pre-season victory, Fulham conclude their Portugal sojourn on Monday, taking on Spanish titans Sevilla at the Estadio Algarve.
Marco Silva's men clinched the friendly Algarve Cup title on Friday with a 1-0 victory over Benfica, while their La Liga foes eased past Granada 2-0 in their last engagement of July.
Match preview
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On the same day that one Arsenal academy graduate in Emile Smith Rowe signed on the dotted line at Craven Cottage, another erstwhile Gunners youngster - Alex Iwobi - scored the goal that made Fulham just the second English team to win the friendly Algarve Cup after Newcastle United in 2012.
With 21 minutes gone in Saturday's battle against Portuguese giants Benfica, Iwobi finished off a rapid-fire counter-attack - where Adama Traore and Antonee Robinson also played their part - to earn Marco Silva's men a noteworthy scalp over the Champions League regulars.
The narrow beating of Benfica succeeded thumpings of Queens Park Rangers (4-0) and Watford (6-1) for the Cottagers, who will endeavour to finally bridge the gap between themselves and the European positions in the Premier League following a couple of unspectacular mid-table finishes.
Such a quest may prove difficult without the services of midfield enforcer Joao Palhinha, whose sale to Bayern Munich boosted the Craven Cottage coffers by £42m, but Fulham's sensational pre-season form offers significant reason for optimism in the English capital.
The meeting with Sevilla represents Fulham's penultimate pre-season friendly; Silva's men will make a quick stopover in Germany to face Hoffenheim on August 10, six days before a daunting first Premier League assignment against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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Fulham's 13th-placed Premier League finish last term was actually slightly superior to Sevilla's unremarkable 14th-placed ranking, marking a severe fall from grace for a side who used to collect Europa League trophies for fun.
Los Palanganas even flirted with relegation for a brief period last season, where neither Jose Luis Mendilibar nor Diego Alonso made the managerial grade, but Quique Sanchez Flores was able to steady the ship enough to keep Sevilla afloat in the top flight.
Now under the wing of Garcia Pimienta - formerly in charge of Barcelona's B team and Las Palmas - Sevilla's penchant for defeats initially continued into pre-season, where Orlando Pirates and Sporting Lisbon condemned them to opening summer losses.
However, Los Palanganas have since rediscovered that winning feeling in front of their own fans, firstly edging out Saudi giants Al-Ittihad 1-0 before goals from Djibril Sow and one-time Chelsea midfielder Saul Niguez earned Pimienta's men a 2-0 win over Granada on July 31.
Monday's clash represents the first of two straight meetings with Premier League opposition for Sevilla, who also pit their wits against Liverpool at Anfield next weekend before commencing La Liga duties on August 16, where Pimienta reunites with old club Las Palmas.
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Team News
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Bidding an incredibly emotional farewell to his boyhood club, £34m man Smith Rowe - now Fulham's most expensive signing of all time - is already with the squad in Portugal and might be considered for his debut here, albeit as a substitute.
Fellow new signing Ryan Sessegnon has already earned his second baptism for the Cottagers since rejoining on a free transfer, while Timothy Castagne is also being put through his paces after returning from his post-Euro 2024 holiday.
The majority of Silva's starters completed at least 60 minutes on Friday, so the Fulham boss may be tempted to shuffle the pack as fatigue comes into play; Andreas Pereira, Raul Jimenez, Harry Wilson and Harrison Reed are options for change.
As for Sevilla, Pimienta still has a couple of players away on international duty, as France's Loic Bade and Spain's Juanlu Sanchez are both set to feature in the Paris 2024 Olympics semi-finals and could face one another in the gold or bronze medal match.
Three continental champions in Jesus Navas (Spain), Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel (Argentina) are still on holiday, while Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga will not be involved owing to a hamstring injury, which should also keep him out of his side's opening La Liga match.
In spite of Lokonga's early blow, both Sow and Saul proved their worth to Pimienta against Granada and might pair up in the engine room on Monday, where ex-Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho could also make his unofficial debut.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Reed, Lukic; Wilson, Pereira, Sessegnon; Jimenez
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Carmona, Salas, Gudelj, Pedrosa; Saul, Sow, Bueno; Lukebakio, Iheanacho, Ocampos
We say: Fulham 2-1 Sevilla
While Sevilla will no doubt boast the fresher legs in Algarve, Silva's Fulham have been irrepressible in the summer warm-up period, while the Spanish side are still getting used to Pimienta's methods.
As a result, we have faith in the Cottagers to make it four from four in pre-season, but not without a fight.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
