Arsenal vs. Fulham: Team News, Preview and Predicted Lineups

Arsenal have been riding high on the wings of Dutch striker Robin van Persie, as the team captain has lead them to five straight victories. The Gunners rank second in the English Premier League form table going into this weekend’s London derby match against Fulham and will feel destined for another victory.

However, despite the frustrations that the Cottagers have gone through this season, you cannot forget that they managed to pull off a come-from-behind draw against Manchester City. The Citizens remain the only undefeated club in the EPL, and to have won a point off of them is a big achievement for the suffering Fulham players to remember.

Arsene Wenger's club has been able to outscore their opponents over their past five games, but defense is still their weakest link. Per Mertesacker continued to look lost in the EPL during many instances against Norwich City, and it looks increasingly vital that there be another defensive signing in January for the club.

Fulham forwards Andrew Johnson and the physical Bobby Zamora could trouble the German, who—despite his size and stature—has failed to impress anyone in England so far. Clint Dempsey against Laurent Koscielny or Andre Santos, depending where he is deployed, could become a major part of the equation for Fulham trying to steal a victory, as the American has as many goals as both Johnson and Zamora in the League at three.

The Cottagers are also still trying to find their scoring boots in the EPL once again. They looked to have figured everything out in their first match of October 2011 when they put six in the net against Queens Park Rangers, but have failed to score more than one goal in all but two of their last seven matches since then.

Van Persie is also coming off another brace in the club's midweek UEFA Champions League match against German champions Borussia Dortmund. In his last six games for Arsenal in both the EPL and Europe, he has scored 12 goals and is averaging a brace per game. At the moment, there is not another striker in England that can claim that achievement in the top flight.

It is possible that RVP could be rested against Fulham with Wenger trying to protect his, at times, very frail center forward, but he will still likely make a cameo appearance in the second half if the Gunners have failed to take the lead or significantly secure the match.

The statistics on Fulham's side look rather bleak. ESPNsoccernet.com's match preview lists one of the most telling statistics for the Cottagers, as they have not won an away London Derby match in 34 chances; their last being a victory over Tottenham in 2003.

Coupled with the above information, the Gunners have not only won five straight matches in the EPL but have won their last five home games after Liverpool made them look foolish during Week 2 back in August right before they got themselves absolutely turned inside out by Manchester United the next week.

The current Arsenal performances look totally different than the ones they put in earlier during the season, and it looks to be an exciting affair between the two London sides in the Saturday November 26, 2011 evening match starting at 12:30 p.m. EST.

Both teams have no additional injuries to report. Arsenal remains without Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Bacary Sagna among others but seem to be holding up while Fulham are still primarily missing Steve Sidwell, Steven Kelly and Simon Davies.

Wenger's squad could shuffle around following the European match on Tuesday, but four day's rest will more than likely be sufficient for the majority of the squad. Martin Jol's Fulham side have had a full week to rest due to their UEFA Europa League match not being until next Thursday against Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente.

Predicted Lineups

Predicted Arsenal Starting XI: Wojciech Szczęsny, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, Andre Santos, Mikel Arteta, Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey; Gervinho, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott.

Predicted Fulham Starting XI: Mark Schwarzer, Zdenek Grygera, Brede Hangeland, Chris Baird, John Arne Riise, Moussa Dembele, Danny Murphy, Dickson Etuhu, Clint Dempsey, Andrew Johnson, Bobby Zamora.

Predicted Result: Arsenal 2, Fulham 1

You can read the rest of the weekend's match previews and predictions right here on Bleacher Report, English Premier League: EPL Week 13 Preview and Predictions.

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