Fulham v Sunderland- live

Latest

FULHAM 0 SUNDERLAND 0 (Kick off 16.00)

15.35 Today's retro highlights are brought to you by the year 1979, a time when Craven Cottage looked pretty much as it does now:

15.18 Here are the teams:

Fulham: Schwarzer; Riether, Hangeland, Hughes, Riise; Kacaniklic, Sidwell, Karagounis, Duff; Ruiz, Berbatov. Subs: Stockdale, Kelly, Senderos, Petric, Rodallega, Dejagah, Smith.

Sunderland: Mignolet; Bardsley, Cuellar, O'Shea, Rose; Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, Johnson; Sessegnon; Fletcher. Subs: Campbell, Wickham, Kilgallon, Vaughan, McClean, Saha, Westwood.

Referee: Lee Probert

15.00 Afternoon liveblog fans.

Some footballers make their way through the world by trying hard, running around, and winning the hearts of English supporters. Jimmy Bullard, Carlos Tevez (when not on strike) or Jamie Mackie.

Others do nothing of the sort, and play the game with a loucheness that suggests it's all rather a chore for them, yet they'll still do enough to prove that they are far better than the players around them.

Yes, I am talking about Steve Sidwell Dimitar Berbatov.

Back in his natural habitat of a second-tier team where he can be the focal point, the folk hero, the man that's excellent at doing excellent things, he is thriving.

He is also one of the coolest footballers to ever live. Just look at him:

What a hero. I will make no apologies on

focusing on him this afternoon, given how dire a prospect Sunderland are and have been all season.

They're edging towards an actual relegation fight, especially given the wins for Reading and Southampton yesterday.

Let's be honest, it's one of the least super Super Sundays in recent memory, but let's not worry too much about that. Dimitar certainly won't be.

Team news and lots more to follow, stay tuned.

Sunday, November 18

Fulham v Sunderland Craven Cottage Kick-off: 16.00 GMT TV: Live Sky Sports 1, Highlights BBC ONE Match of the Day 2.

Fulham (Possible, 4-4-1-1): Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise; Duff, Karagounis, Sidwell, Kacaniklic; Ruiz; Berbatov. Out: Richardson (hamstring), Davies (hip), Baird (suspended). Tests: Diarra (knee), Tavares (hamstring).

Sunderland (Possible, 4-4-2): Mignolet; Bardsley, O’Shea, Cuellar, Rose; Johnson, Larsson, Colback, McClean; Fletcher; Sessegnon. Out: Gardner (suspended). Tests: Fletcher (calf), Westwood (thigh), Bardsley (hamstring), Cattermole (knee).

Referee: Lee Probert. Matches 6, R0 Y19.

Team News Kieran Richardson will miss Fulham's Barclays Premier League clash with his former club because of a hamstring injury.

The 28-year-old will be out for a further 10 days with the injury he picked up in last weekend's 3-3 draw at Arsenal and will be joined on the sidelines by several other midfielders.

Simon Davies (hip) and Chris Baird (suspension) will definitely miss out, while Mahamadou Diarra (knee) and Mickael Tavares (hamstring) are big doubts.

Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill faces late decisions over a series of players.Scotland striker Steven Fletcher (calf) and Republic of Ireland keeper Keiren Westwood (thigh) missed their respective international matches in midweek, with 18-year-old Jordan Pickford on standby to provide the back-up to Simon Mignolet.

In addition, full-back Phil Bardsley (hamstring) and midfielder Lee Cattermole (knee) remain doubts for the game at Craven Cottage after missing Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Everton.

Match Notes Resistible force meets movable object. One of the mysteries of this season is how Martin O’Neill has managed to avoid greater scrutiny of his dismal record. Less vaunted managers would have been shown the door well before now, with Sunderland’s lack of goals resulting in only one league win since March. Free-scoring, free-conceding Fulham await, buoyed by the form of Dimitar Berbatov and Bryan Ruiz but with serious problems to address at the back. Jonathan Liew

Betting: Home 8-11, Away 10-3, Draw 5-2.

Stat of the game: In the last four meetings between Fulham and Sunderland there have been four red cards.

Jonathan Liew’s prediction: Fulham 1 Sunderland 1.

Premier League

Sport » Football » Fulham » Sunderland » Thom Gibbs »

In Premier League Rise of the 'football artists'

Premier League action

The 50 best images from the sporting highlights of 2012

Rooney: 10 of his best

promotions »

FEATURED ADVERTISING

Cars

Engineering

VistaPrint

Search for Engineering Jobs in the UK and overseas

Search for the full range of VistaPrint services

Fulham v Sunderland- live

Last updated : 18 November 2012 By telegraph