Nedum Onuoha has highlighted one reason why Manchester City’s upcoming Premier League game against Fulham could be tougher than usual.

On Saturday, the Citizens will be taking on Fulham at Craven Cottage before title rivals Arsenal face off against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

With the Gunners still one point ahead of the Blues, who have a game in hand on the north London club, both sides will be looking to win their remaining games of the campaign.

Looking ahead to these latest games, one pundit and former City player has shared some insight into why the Manchester club’s match at Fulham could be trickier than usual for the Blues.

Onuoha says Man City’s Fulham clash could be tricky for one reason

Speaking in a recent episode of Planet Premier League, Onuoha had this to say about the two title-chasers’ upcoming fixtures.

He said: “I think this season, we’ve seen United be quite indifferent, but then still get results mostly against Liverpool. So to completely write them off, I think would be missing the point.

“But I think given how bad they were against Crystal Palace, unless they have, say, three or four players coming back in, you can’t really see a way for them to be getting any points from Arsenal – an Arsenal side, which are ruthless, which will find a weakness and they’ll play into it.

“But then from the Manchester City side, going to Fulham, and it’s that early kick-off, which a lot of managers, especially [Jurgen] Klopp, really don’t like.

“You could say, well, maybe this and maybe that, but I think the balance is realistically, from Fulham’s standpoint, throughout the season, you’ve got the first game of the season, you’ve got the first home game of the season.

“The two might not necessarily be the same, but you want to start where you want to leave a good impression.

“I think the same is true for your last home game of the season because after that game, say Fulham are going to be walking around with their families, clapping the fans, saying thank you for all your service.

“And I think that adds maybe one or two per cent to that game itself. So I could see that being tougher.

“This is all unless United bring players back in. If United go out with that same team on Sunday as they did on Monday, it’s not going to be worth watching for any United fans that may be on this podcast.

“But if they’ve got some back, then I think the two games probably marry up in terms of difficulty. I think they become the same.

“But for now, I think the United game on the weekend won’t be worth watching unless you’re a real Arsenal fan that’s a sicko that loves to see giants fall.”

Man City must beat Fulham

With 36 games played in the campaign, the Cottagers have won 12, drawn eight and lost 16, scoring 51 goals and conceding 55 along the way.

Back in September, the Citizens beat Marco Silva’s side 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium in their fourth match of the campaign.

In terms of what Onuoha had to say about the Fulham players possibly putting in more effort to leave their home fans on a high note for this season, this shouldn’t change City’s mindset about the game, as we feel the players should be focusing on delivering their best performance and doing all they can to pick up three points.

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