Nico and Doku start as City make two changes for Fulham finale | OneFootball

City make two changes for Sunday’s final Premier League game of the 2024/25 season away at Fulham.

From the side that started Tuesday’s 3-1 win at home to Bournemouth, Nico and Jeremy Doku both come into Pep Guardiola’s starting eleven.

Kevin De Bruyne, who features in the matchday squad for the final time as a City player, reverts to the bench.

Mateo Kovacic is suspended for the game following his red card against Bournemouth in midweek.

Meanwhile Jack Grealish, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Oscar Bobb and James McAtee were not in the travelling squad while John Stones remains sidelined through injury.

Teams

FULHAM XI: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson, Lukic, Cairney (C), Wilson, Pereira, Traore, Jimenez.

Subs: Benda, Bassey, Sessegnon, Berge, King, Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Willian, Vinicius.

CITY XI: Ederson, Nunes, Akanji, Dias (C), Gvardiol, Nico, Gundogan, Bernardo, Marmoush, Doku, Haaland.

Subs: Ortega, Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Savinho, Echeverri, Foden, O'Reilly, Lewis.

WATCH: City's best Premier League moments at Fulham

Tactics

Ederson will start in goal with the Brazilian international goalkeeper shielded by a back four of Matheus Nunes, Manuel Akanji, skipper Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.

Nico is set to be the holding midfielder with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva also in the City engine room.

Erling Haaland will once again form the focal point of City’s attacking trident with Doku and Omar Marmoush both expected to provide further ammunition up-front.

However, as ever, such is the tactical flexibility within Pep’s squad that those positions could be subject to change as the game goes on.

Point of order

The mathematics for third-placed City as we head into the final Premier League game of the season are deliciously simple.

Victory at Craven Cottage would be enough to ensure we both seal our place in the top-five – and with it confirm qualification into the Champions League for what would be a 15th consecutive season.

However, even a point – barring some mathematical freak of nature – should suffice given City's superior goal difference to sixth-placed Aston Villa .

But with Newcastle. Chelsea, Villa and Nottingham Forest also still harbouring genuine hopes of a top-five finish, you can be sure Pep Guardiola’s message to his players will be to go all out in search of victory to sign off the league season in style.

WATCH: Guardiola only targeting win at Fulham

The fondest of farewells

After the emotion of last Tuesday’s memorable and moving Etihad goodbye to Kevin De Bruyne against Bournemouth, this afternoon will mark the final time one of our greatest-ever players features in a Premier League matchday squad for City.

The outpouring of affection, tributes and genuine warmth and gratitude to the midfielder says everything about the esteem in which KDB is held at the Club.

But ever the professional, he made a point of saying the best way to bow out in the league would be to strive to help the Blues seal the deal and seal our ticket to the Champions League.

As it always was with De Bruyne – the focus is on the collective not the individual.

Here’s hoping Kev can sign off in the league as a winner once more – it would somehow be totally fitting and keeping with the most extraordinary of careers.

End game

Today’s clash will be a formidable challenge with Fulham having earned widespread plaudits for their progress this season under manager Marco Silva.

However, City can take comfort both from our recent record against the Cottagers and indeed our form on the final day of the league season stretching back over the past decade or so.

All told, the Blues have won our last 17 fixtures against Fulham in all competitions.

That marks the longest winning run one English league side has had against another in history.

Furthermore, City will step out for the last fixture of the league season on the back of having won our final Premier League game in nine of the last 11 seasons.

The two exceptions to that superb record being a 1-1 draw at Swansea (2015-16) and a 1-0 loss at Brentford (2022-23).

Let's hope we can maintain that great record!

WATCH: De Bruyne: My life at Manchester City

Stats and facts

•  Fulham are winless in 19 Premier League meetings with City (D3 L16), losing the last 14 in a row. Their last victory was in April 2009 at the Etihad Stadium under Roy Hodgson.

• Fulham have won just one of their 16 Premier League home games against City (D5 L10), beating them 2-1 in November 2005 under Chris Coleman.

• Fulham beat Luton 4-2 on the final day last season, having failed to win their last league game in any of the six previous seasons (D1 L5).

• City have won our final Premier League game in nine of the last 11 seasons, with the exceptions being a 1-1 draw at Swansea (2015-16) and a 1-0 loss at Brentford (2022-23).

• Fulham have lost their last two Premier League home games, despite opening the scoring both times. They last lost more consecutively between March and May 2021 (6).

• Victory will secure City UEFA Champions League football next season what would be a 15th season in a row.

• No side has come from behind at half time to win more games in a Premier League season than Fulham in 2024-25 (5 – level with Man Utd in 2020-21 and City in 2023-24), with the Cottagers beating Brentford 3-2 last time out despite trailing at the break.

• Goals from Tom Cairney and Harry Wilson against Brentford last time out saw Fulham set a new Premier League for goals scored by substitutes in a single season (17). Those 17 goals have been worth 17 points to the Cottagers, more than any other side in the division this term.

• All 12 of Raúl Jiménez’s Premier League goals this season have either put Fulham ahead (9) or drawn them level (3) in the match. The Mexican is looking to score in three consecutive games in the competition for the third time, previously doing so in November 2019 and September 2024.