Fulham: A yo-yo club no more

Fulham have been a classic yo-yo team in recent years. The West London outfit spent five seasons continuously oscillating between the first and second tiers. “Too good for the Championship, too bad for the Premier League,” was said of the club, who have still never won a title in their long history. But coach Marco Silva, who took over at Fulham in July 2021 after they had been relegated, brought success back to the banks of the Thames. The Portuguese immediately guided the club to promotion in his first year with a points record for the second tier and then put an end to the team’s yo-yo times and steered them to a comfortable 10th position in the table – two places ahead of rivals Chelsea.

TSG Hoffenheim will pay a visit to a remarkable stadium on Saturday. The main stand at Craven Cottage is the oldest continuously existing stand in English professional football. The structure, which was built in 1905, is a listed building and adjoins the old hunting lodge after which the stadium is named. Meanwhile the opposite stand, which backs directly onto the Thames, represents a step into the modern era for the club. The old stand was torn down in the summer of 2019 and replaced by a new construction. Since its completion, Craven Cottage has a capacity of 29,600.

To date, the London outfit have unveiled two new signings ahead of the new season. Striker Raul Jimenez has joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers, while defender Calvin Bassey has been signed from Ajax. No first-team starters have departed Fulham to date; however, there are rumours regarding top striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored 43 goals in 44 matches in the promotion-winning season and notched 14 goals in 24 Premier League appearances. The Serb is linked with Saudi-Arabia.

The London club will kick off their Premier League campaign a week after the game with a trip to Everton. Starting then, Fulham will have to prove that they have put their yo-yo days behind them.