How Fulham will treat Sunderland FA Cup tie as Patrick Roberts prepares for Craven Cottage return

Despite back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Tottenham, Marco Silva’s side are seventh in the top-flight, following last season’s promotion from the Championship.

To find out more we caught up with The Athletic’s Fulham reporter Peter Rutzler on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast.

You can listen to the full episode here

How seriously will Fulham take the FA Cup?

PR: “I think they will take it quite seriously.

“Because of where they are and they have this sizable gap to the bottom three, they are on 31 points so are three wins away from 40. It gives them a bit more licence to take the cup competition a bit more seriously.

“The third-round win over Hull was quite informative as it was a very senior team, you had some regulars starting and they also have some good rotation options.

“I think there will be some rotation and would be surprised if we saw Aleksandar Mitrovic who probably needs a break.

“In terms of the rest of the squad they have talent who need minutes to play.”

Who are some of the players who could get an opportunity?

PR: “Up front I think Carlos Vinicius will get another run out.

“He scored the winning goal against Chelsea in the local derby here which means a lot to Fulham supporters – they hadn’t won that game since 2006.

“Another one to look out for is Manor Solomon, he signed in the summer and played briefly against Liverpool on the opening day and then was injured the next day and has been out for about four months.

“He’s now back and has been building up his minutes slowly. Against Tottenham he looked really lively from the bench.

“There are others like Harry Wilson who have a point to prove. He was brilliant in the Championship last year but hasn’t had a chance really to make a mark on the Premier League.”

What formation will Fulham play?

PR: “Since day one Marco Silva has played the same system no matter who is playing.

“It sets up as a 4-2-3-1 but it’s like a 4-3-3 with Andreas Pereira in that three who gets closer to Mitrovic as a number No 8 / No 10.

“Harrison Reed tends to be on the other side and Joao Palhinha is the holding midfielder.

“I’d imagine it will be the same system and can’t see it changing for this game.”

How is former Fulham academy graduate Patrick Roberts remembered there?

PR: “He was part of a team which reached the FA Youth Cup final and was probably one of the first sort of very exciting prospects that got everyone talking.

“Roberts made some first-team appearances under Felix Magath and Kit Symons and before you knew it he was whisked away to Manchester City.

“Fulham fans will remember him because they’ll probably think of him in terms of what if and maybe he could have played more games for them.

“His talent at youth level was undoubted but it just hasn’t quite worked out for him since. It seems like it has taken a bit of time for him to find somewhere where he’s settled and has been quite good to see he’s found a home at Sunderland.”