Manchester City vs. Fulham: Preview, Live Stream, Start Time and More

Manchester City will look to keep their three-point lead above rivals Manchester United in the Premier League table when they clash with Fulham on Saturday.

City will battle Everton on Tuesday after their 2-2 draw to Liverpool in the second leg of the Carling Cup semifinal eliminated them from the competition.

The league leaders will have their hands full with a talented Fulham club that are better than what their 12th-place position in the league table would suggest. Fulham have some talented players and don't give up no matter what the score is. They give maximum effort for the full 90 minutes.

Let's look at everything you need to know about this awesome Premier League matchup.

Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England

Watch: Fox Soccer

Live Stream: Sky Sports

When: Saturday, Feb. 4 at 12:30 p.m.

Player to watch for Manchester City: David Silva

The Spanish playmaker is one of the best players in the Premier League and is so important to the Manchester City attack.

Silva is an exquisite passer and sets up his teammates with glorious scoring opportunities on a regular basis. He's also talented enough to score goals himself.

If the City attack is to score on a strong Fulham defense, Silva will have to be at the center of the attack once again.

Player to watch for Fulham: Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey is the best American player in the world and is a rising star in English football. He is a match winner for Fulham and is a constant scoring threat in the midfield.

He leads the club with nine league goals; the next closest scorer has five. Dempsey is not just a scorer, his passing skills are quite good and his strength helps him defend well, too.

Dempsey has to play well if Fulham are to upset Manchester City and take all three points at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Key Matchup: Battle of the midfield

Silva and Dempsey will be key to their respective club's chances of winning on Saturday. Whoever can dominate the midfield will give their club a positive result.

If Fulham cannot contain Silva and allow him to pick out passes to open forwards, then Fulham will have a tough chance keeping the ball out of the back of their net.

Dempsey cannot win the midfield by himself, so the other Fulham players will need to help him by playing strong defense in the middle third.

Whichever team wins the middle of the pitch will take all three points Saturday.

What They're Saying

Soccernet is reporting that QPR has interest in signing Fulham star Bobby Zamora:

"

QPR manager Mark Hughes has made an approach to sign Zamora, although personal terms could prove a stumbling block.

Zamora played under former Fulham boss Hughes last season, scoring seven goals in 16 games in all competitions.

"

Manchester City are trying to finish a move for Roma defender Pizarro, and the Italian club's general director Franco Baldini telling Soccernet:

"

For our transfer market, I would say that there will be no surprises, we're just trying to close with City for Pizarro. We are looking at a loan, we hope to reach an agreement by tonight.

"

Prediction: Manchester City win 3-0

Manchester City has too much attacking firepower not to score three or more goals in this match. They will be angered by their Carling Cup defeat to Liverpool and come out of the dressing room onto the pitch motivated to dominate Fulham.

Outside of Dempsey, Fulham don't have any match winners capable of taking over the match and scoring goals, especially if Zamora leaves on deadline day.

The league leaders will earn an important three points on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium with an inspired attacking performance.