Key events
44 min: Harrison Reed and Bobby Reid combine down the left wing for Fulham but Mamadou Onana puts the ball out of play for a throw-in.
42 min: In a crowded penalty area, Anthony Gordon shoots high over the Fulham cross-bar from a tight angle.
40 min: Tarkowski heads straight at Bernd Leno from about 10 yards out as the ball is swung into the box from a cleverly worked Everton corner.
37 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin clears the inswinger but Fulham appeal for a penalty after James Tarkowski grapples Bobby De Cordova-Reid to the ground as the ball came in. There’s no question that the offence occurred but no spot-kick is awarded. Go figure.
35 min: Neeskens Kebano wins a free-kick for Fulham, going down under an innocuous looking challenge from Amadou Onana in line with the right edge of the Everton penalty area.
34 min: Demarai Gray attacks down the left touchline for Everton but his whipped cross into the Fulham penalty area is hacked clear by Issa Diop.
31 min: Fulham continue to turn the screw and win themselves another corner. Pereira’s delivery is too high for Mitrovic, the ball breaks to Harrison Reed and his low shot from distance is deflected into the hands of Jordan Pickford.
28 min: That corner came from a good Fulham move down the left, with Robinson and Willian linking up well. Conor Coady was forced into a vital interception.
26 min: Fulham corner. Willian takes it, teeing up Andreas Pereira for a volley from the edge of a penalty area, in a move identical to the one from which Youri Tielemans came so close for Leicester against Manchester City earlier today. Tielemans forced a wonderful save out of Ederson, but Pereira shanks his shot wide.
24 min: Contesting the ball, Aleksandar Mitrovic treads heavily on Idrissa Gueye’s ankle. He gets booked and I’ll tell you what – I’ve seen red cards given for an awful lot less. I’m not sure there was any intention on Mitrovic’s part to hurt his opponent but that doesn’t matter. I think he’s got away with one there.
23 min: Everton’s fans strike up a rising rendition of a certain anti-Tory chant. Fulham’s supporters, who probably have considerably more Conservative voters among their number than Everton, don’t join in.
21 min: Calvert-Lewin seems to have done his left shoulder a mischief but is continuing for now. He keeps holding it.
18 min: Demarai Gray curls a wonderfully inviting cross along the edge of the Fulham six-yard box. I’m not sure how he failed to make contact and score but it’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, rather than the ball, who ends up in the back of the net. That was a sitter.
16 min: There’s a break in play as Aleksandar Mitrovic goes to ground injured after an aerial challenge with Conor Coady, who didn’t jump with the striker but instead ducked into him Harry Kane style while the Serb was in mid-air, ensuring he landed head and shoulders first. I have no dog in this fight and nothing but the highest of regard for Coady but that’s dangerous and should be a yellow, if not a red card, in my humble opinion. Others are available.
14 min: Another long ball from deep from Everton, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the chase. Tim Ream isn’t fast enough to keep up with him but Antonee Robinson is on hand to clear up at the back for Fulham.
14 min: Everton started in the ascendency but their hosts have now got a firm foothold in the game. It’s a tricky one to call.
11 min: Another Fulham corner. Pereira sends the ball in with vicious whip, it’s flicked on at the near post. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is forced to clear just a couple of feet off his own line.
10 min: Another save from Pickford in what is shaping up to be an excellent game. He puts the ball out for another corner, palming away a long-range effort from Harrison Reed. Pereira, usually so reliable with his set-piece delivery, overhits his delivery to the far post.
8 min: Willian collects a cross and shoots on the tun from close range forcing Pickford to tip the ball over his cross-bar with a fine save. From the corner, Mitrovic climbs high to head Pereira’s delivery goalwards. Pickford puts the ball out for another corner.
6 min: Demarai Gray forces Bernd Leno into a very smart save with a rasping, rising drive. Moments previously, Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson had blocked brilliantly from Anthony Gordon as the Everton winger chased a long ball from Jordan Pickford and unleashed a shot.
4 min: Andreas Pereira stands the ball up for Willian on the fringes of the Everton six-yard box. The Brazilian makes a pig’s ear of his header and the ball goes wide off his shoulder.
3 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin gets the better of Tim Ream down the inside right and pulls the ball back into the penalty area from the byline. Bobby Decordoba-Reid gets a vital touch to take it away from the incoming Demarai Gray.
2 min: Everton win a couple of throw-ins in quick succession down by the technical areas and are dominating proceedings in these very early stages.
Table of Contents
Fulham v Everton is go …
1 min: Everton get the ball rolling, their players wearing yellow shirts, shorts and socks. Fulham wear their usual home kit: white shirts, black shorts and white socks.
Not long now: The teams are out on the Craven Cottage pitch, lined up either side of match referee John Brooks and his team of match officials. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes away.
How things stand: Results elsewhere this afternoon mean that both sides have dropped a place. Fulham go down to eighth, while Everton are now in 13th spot.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: The Everton striker needs a big, big performance today if he is to earn a place in the England squad for the World Cup as back-up for Harry Kane. Injury means that Calvert-Lewin has only made four appearances – two starts – for Everton so far this season but he scored last time out against Crystal Palace.
He will do well to get picked ahead of Callum Wilson, another injury prone striker who scored twice and hit the woodwork this afternoon in Newcastle’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa, a match attended by England manager Gareth Southgate. Ivan Toney, Tammy Abraham and somebody obvious I’ve almost certainly forgotten are also in the mix with less than a month to go to Qatar 2022.
Those teams: Fulham boss Marco Silva makes two changes to the side that won 3-2 at Leeds last Sunday. Neeskens Kebano and Issa Diop come in, with Harry Wilson and Tosin Adarabioyo making way. Kenny Tete is back on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Dan James is also among the substitutes.
Frank Lampard has picked the same Everton team that did so well against Crystal Palace. Having returned to fitness, Nathan Patterson is on the bench. There’s no place in the matchday squad for the Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon.
Fulham v Everton starting line-ups
Fulham: Leno, Kebano, Reed, Diop, Mitrovic, Ream, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, João Palhinha, Robinson
Subs: Rodak, Duffy, Wilson, Cairney, James, Tete, Vinícius, Tosin, Harris
Everton: Pickford, Tarkowski, Onana, Calvert-Lewin, Gordon, Gray, Iwobi, Mykolenko, Coleman, Gueye, Coady
Subs: Begovic, Holgate, Keane, McNeil, Doucoure, Maupay, Davies, Garner, Patterson
Today’s match officials
Early team news
Fulham right-back Kenny Tete is back from a thigh injury and could start today. Left-back Manor Solomon and winger Layvin Kurzawa are sidelined but loanee Dan James is expected to return to the side this weekend after being forced to sit out Fulham’s win over his parent club Leeds.
Everton are without Ben Godfrey and Andros Townsend, who remain sidelined and unlikely to return before Christmas. Yerry Mina is also out after suffering a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury. Nathan Patterson has recovered from an ankle injury and is expected to be in today’s matchday squad. The Scottish right-back has not played since Everton’s home win over West Ham in mid-September.
Fulham v Everton
Premier League: Fulham host Everton at Craven Cottage, with the visitors in twelfth place in the table, five points behind their hosts, who are scaling the unexpectedly dizzy heights of seventh. Sacked by Everton almost three years ago after 18 months in charge of Goodison Park, Marco Silva has done sterling work at Fulham since his appointment in July 2021, taking them into the Premier League as champions last season and now making a very decent fist of keeping them in the top flight.
Having kept Everton up following his appointment as manager last season, Frank Lampard is having an up and down time of it in the current campaign. His side swatted Crystal Palace aside courtesy of three outstanding goals last weekend but that impressive victory came on the back of three consecutive defeats. Everton have won just one of their six matches on the road this season. Kick-off at the Cottage is at 5.30pm but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.