Fulham

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The Telegraph's Luke Edwards says Marco Silva's heavy rotation of his Fulham side for Sunday's FA Cup fifth round defeat by Championship Southampton at Craven Cottage "doesn't make any sense".

The Cottagers made nine changes to the side that lost to West ham in the Premier League in midweek but saw their chances of silverware slip away for another season after a nervy defeat.

"Silva has done a very good job but there's been friction there," Edwards told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"There was friction in the summer over lack of transfer business.

"They are the definition of mid-table, they are safe. What I do not understand is why have they made so many changes for a home FA Cup game.

"It doesn't make any sense to me. You're safe, at home, got a big chance to get into a cup quarter-final and are then one game away from a semi-final at Wembley.

"These are things that are not normal for Fulham. These are exciting things they could have done.

"Silva has heavily rotated his team and they end up losing at home to a Championship team. I will never get my head round that.

"They were booed off by their own supporters and deservedly so."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Pundits Ellen White and Glenn Murray join host Kelly Somers to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday and Sunday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Port Vale 1-0 Sunderland

• Fulham 0-1 Southampton

• Leeds 3-0 Norwich

• Wrexham 2-3 Chelsea

• Newcastle 1-3 Man City

• Mansfield Town 1-2 Arsenal

• Wolves 1-3 Liverpool

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Fulham boss Marco Silva, speaking to BBC Sport on whether the team selection was the problem: "I understand that, it's more than that. It was a bad afternoon for us and for our fans. We need to look deeper because I'm not pleased at all what has happened this afternoon.

"This one is more than a defeat - if it's because of the changes then fine, I get it - but [Ryan] Sessegnon and [Timothy] Castagne have played this season against top Premier League sides, Oscar Bobb and Samuel Chukwueze are at the level. We have to look deeper. I understand that I get the blame for making the changes."

Reason for defeat?: "For me it's simple, when you have 24 shots and they don't have many clear-cut chances. We arrived in their box, created from the sides but with end product we have to finish, have to be quicker and arrive in the right spots in the box. They have five shots and have chances to score, any moment on the counter was a chance for them.

"It's about mindset. When you have so many shots and looking for the chances we should've created more. The end product of our team was not the level it should be."

On Fulham's disallowed goal in first half: "I don't want to speak about that at the moment."

On picking up for rest of season: "It's our obligation, we have to understand it was a very, very bad afternoon. We know anything can happen on football but it's more than that. We have to look deeper because it was not good enough and that starts with me looking at myself."

Did you know?

• This was the first time that Fulham were eliminated from the FA Cup by a side from the second tier while being in the top-flight, since a 3-0 fifth round replay defeat to Burnley in February 2003. The Cottagers had progressed from each of their prior 15 such ties.

• Across all competitions this season, Fulham have failed to score in the first half of matches on 23 occasions, with only Nottingham Forest and Wolves (both 26) doing so more often among Premier League sides.

• Fulham won 15 corners in this match, last winning more in any match across all competitions against Reading in the Championship in May 2017 (16).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Marco Silva has made a staggering nine changes to his team following a disappointing 1-0 defeat against West Ham United in the Premier League earlier this week.

It is a massive shake-up, with the Hatters bidding to reach consecutive FA Cup quarter-finals this afternoon.

Captain Tom Cairney and winger Samuel Chukwueze are the only players to keep their spots in the starting line-up.

Harry Wilson does not feature in the squad after picking up a knock against Tottenham.

Fulham XI: Lecomte, Castagne, Andersen, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Bobb, Muniz, Chukwueze

Subs: Leno, Tete, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Lukic, King, Iwobi, Raul

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert chooses to make four changes to his side, who are currently nine games unbeaten in all competitions.

The Saints' strong run of form has seen them make a late push for the Championship play-off spots - and they will be hoping to continue that run at Craven Cottage.

Jack Stephens and Shea Charles miss out on the matchday squad altogether, while Cam Bragg and Kuryu Matsuki drop to the bench.

Southampton XI: Peretz, Bree, Wood, Harwood-Bellis, Manning, Downes, Jander, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza, Larin

Subs: Long, Quarshie, Jelert, Romeu, Bragg, Matsuki, Edozie, Archer, Stewart

There are three fifth-round ties in the FA Cup on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Fulham v Southampton (12:00) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 & BBC Radio Solent

• Port Vale v Sunderland (13:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Stoke & BBC Radio Newcastle

• Leeds v Norwich (16:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Leeds & BBC Radio Norfolk

Kick-off times GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Fulham v Southampton" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Leeds v Norwich", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

How to follow the FA Cup fifth round on the BBC

Southampton have won six of their past seven games in the Championship but I fancy Fulham here.

They are at home and are going to be fine in the Premier League this season, so I don't see Marco Silva making too many changes.

It would be great to see Fulham having a real run in the FA Cup. They've never won it, reaching the final in 1975 is their best attempt yet, but I wouldn't rule out their chances of making it to Wembley this year.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are set to battle to sign England Under-19 centre-back Samuel Amissah from Fulham. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Fulham will need to "prove our quality" against Southampton in the FA Cup, says boss Marco Silva.

The Cottagers host the in-form south coast side in the fifth round of the cup on Sunday lunchtime and know they will need to be at their best level to ensure their progression to the quarter finals.

Saints were 21st in the Championship when manager Tonda Eckert took over early in November following the sacking of Will Still, but a run of six wins in their past eight has seen them climb to one place outside the play-off places.

"They have been reacting very, very well, definitely," said Silva.

"You see their recent form - not so recent, because it's been already, I think, nine games unbeaten - most of them getting the three points.

"And, of course, where they came from, in a bad position in the table, right now to be around the play-off positions shows they are in a good moment.

"They are in a moment when they can win football matches in a row. That is important and, for sure, gives them the confidence they are going in the right direction.

"They want to come to Craven Cottage to show their quality. It's up to us to be at our best level and to prove our quality, and to prove why we want to be in the next round of the FA Cup."

Listen to full commentary of Fulham v Southampton at 12:00 on Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and BBC Sounds

Got a question about Fulham? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Fulham and West Ham United.

Here are some of your comments:

Fulham fans

Neville: Another poor season for us.some changes are needed.players or management. I'm not sure what.

Ben: A real togetherness is evident within the team now. We must keep maintaining these clean sheets as we don't score enough. Still believe we can do it.

Campbell: Very disappointing second half, we did not look like we wanted to win it, gave away possession to often and a rare mistake from Leno. Hope we can come back against Southampton.

Matt: Silva seems to have decided he doesn't want Europe with the starting lineup and setup. Strange.

Louis: Overall poor performance. I am mainly going to blame Marco Silva, why change the successful lineup when we are doing well. Iwobi was very good in the midfield role, so why change it!

West Ham fans

Joe: Wasn't our best performance I have seen this season but it was a very important 3 points to get. We are now really scaring those above us, Summerville comes up with the goods again and Hermansen made some vital saves. We have a tough run in but after this win, I wouldn't count us out.

Gregory: Massive massive win. Brings us closer to safety and it's so good to see our keeper put in a good performance. The only think better than surviving would be to send spurs down as well.

Barry: First half wasn't great, definitely better in the second. Not an amazing game but definitely a brilliant result. A good team performance against a good Fulham side who have shown good form in the last few weeks. We can really start putting pressure on those just above us. Another great finish by Jimmy.

Sue: What an improvement. They kept trying and didn't give up. If they keep this up we will beat the drop.

Pundits Micah Richards and Danny Murphy join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from the midweek Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

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For Fulham, it was a night that began badly and never truly recovered.

The pre-match news that Harry Wilson would miss out through injury heightened the challenge facing Marco Silva's side.

The 28-year-old Wales international has been a talismanic figure for the Whites this season.

Wilson is the first Fulham player since Dimitar Berbatov in 2012-13 to register 15 goal contributions in a single campaign, so his absence was always likely to be felt.

But with his contract set to expire this summer, Wednesday night offered a glimpse of what life without him could look like at Craven Cottage.

On the basis of this performance, Silva's side will need to find new source of attacking threat in the final third if they are to continue to fight for Europe.

Marco Silva spoke to: BBC Match of the day about his 'frustating evening' as Fulham's lost against West Ham: "For many different reasons, first of all for the result and we lost the game. Definitely didn't deserve much more from the game and so many incidents that dictate the result the result this evening.

"For me, it's clear firstly to talk about ourselves and the goal we conceded we gave a goal basically at this level if you want to win football matches you cant. And of course after the incident the referees decision were at a very low level in my opinion. Not at the level a game like this one, decisive games in this moment in the season should be and have the impact of VAR. And John Brooks with Fulham Football Club, he was on VAR and he was able to decide against the referee decision on the pitch is unbelievable.

"It has been a little bit the story of our season when John Brooks is involved with us. It was very unlucky again with the decision when he was not on the pitch, a decision that he took in the office looking for the decision.

"Many, many incidents that the game can be in our direction,. Even the penalty, I repeat again John Brooks took and decided against the on-field decision. Very difficult to understand mistakes in games against ourselves, but it is what is is. We have to respect. We have to do it. We cannot control.

"All the decisions, they were against us."

Tom Cairney spoke to TNT Sports on whether it was a penalty on him that VAR decided otherwise: "Yeah because if it's not there, I score. He's [Taty Castellanos] not got the ball. I haven't tackled him.

"He gave a free-kick for Josh King for exactly the same thing. He gave a foul to us where Josh King kicks him when he's about to shoot and the same thing happened to me inside the box. The referee gives a penalty and then VAR try to find something like they normally do, send the ref over to the screen and make another decision.

"That's what happened. If he's not there I score."

Did you know?

Fulham failed to score in a Premier League home game for the first time since a 1-0 loss to Arsenal in October, putting to end their longest scoring run at Craven Cottage in the top-flight (10 games) since January 2014 (13).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Fulham's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Come back on Thursday for a selection of your replies

Manager Marco Silva has made four changes to the team that defeated Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with Antonee Robinson, Samuel Chukwueze, Tom Cairney and Josh King coming in for Harry Wilson (injured), Emile Smith Rowe, Ryan Sessegnon and Oscar Bobb.

Fulham XI: Leno, Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Cairney; Chukwueze, King, Iwobi, Jimenez

Subs: Lecomte, Castagne, Andersen, Sessegnon, Reed, Lukic, Bobb, Smith Rowe, Muniz

Nuno Espirito Santo has also shuffled his pack ahead of tonight's game at Craven Cottage, with Jean Todibo and Callum Wilson replacing Konstantinos Mavropanos and Soungoutou Magassa.

West Ham XI: Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Todibo, Diouf; Bowen, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville; Wilson Castellanos

Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Mavropanos, Adama, Lamadrid, Magassa, Scarles, Kante

Nuno Espirito Santo has also shuffled his pack ahead of tonight's game at Craven Cottage, with Jean Todibo and Callum Wilson replacing Konstantinos Mavropanos and Soungoutou Magassa.

There are five games in the Premier League on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Aston Villa v Chelsea - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Brighton v Arsenal - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v West Ham

• Manchester City v Nottingham Forest -BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Newcastle v Manchester United (20:15) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

Kick-off times 19:30 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Brighton v Arsenal" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Man Utd", for instance.

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Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

East meets west at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night, with Fulham vying to emulate their victory over West Ham in December's reverse fixture.

While Fulham have rekindled their hopes of European football with successive wins, West Ham's revival has lost some momentum and they remain two points from safety.

Wilson key as Fulham dare to dream

Fulham's season is following a similar pattern to their previous campaigns since promotion in 2022 – sat comfortably mid-table or higher heading into March, with aspirations of qualifying for Europe for the first time since 2011.

They've eventually settled for final league positions of 10th, 14th and 10th again, but could it be different this time?

Last Sunday's victory over Spurs left Fulham in ninth place, behind Everton by the narrowest of goal difference. Eighth could be enough for European qualification this season.

If they are to achieve that target, their difference maker could be Harry Wilson. The in-form winger is a minor fitness doubt to face West Ham after being substituted with an ankle injury at the weekend but only after he'd registered his ninth goal and sixth assist in the Premier League this season. No Fulham player has been directly involved in more goals in a top-flight campaign since Dimitar Berbatov provided 15 goals and three assists in 2012-13.

Wilson, who is out of contract this summer, is reaping the benefits of regular football; he has played 83% of the available minutes in 2025-26, having never before reached 50% in a Premier League season. His impact has been particularly strong over the past 15 top-flight games, during which his 13 goal involvements was only bettered by Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland.

Familiar failings return for West Ham

Prior to Saturday's defeat by Liverpool, West Ham had taken 11 points from six games – as many as in their previous 18. They've narrowed the deficit to fourth bottom Nottingham Forest from seven points to two over the past six weeks and can take solace from giving Liverpool a harder game than the 5-2 scoreline suggests.

The Hammers conceded as many goals at Anfield as they had in their previous five league matches combined, and the first three on Saturday all came from corners.

Notwithstanding the fact West Ham had previously gone nearly two months without conceding from a set-piece, they have now let in 15 goals from corners this season – five more than any other side in Europe's top five leagues.

Several other unwanted statistics are hindering West Ham's survival chances. They have now only taken one point from the six most recent fixtures in which they conceded first and are winless in 10 top-flight kick-offs at 7pm or later since beating Leicester a year ago. The Hammers have also lost seven of their eight Premier League London derbies this season – only three sides have ever fared worse.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo was very upbeat about his side's performance at Anfield on Saturday, but they lost 5-2.

The only consolation for the Hammers is that the teams immediately above them all lost too.

They lost at home to Fulham in December I don't see them getting anything on Wednesday, either.

Marco Silva's side played really well in their win against Tottenham on Sunday and Harry Wilson is on fire - my advice is to get him in your fantasy team, now.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Manchester United have no intention of selling English midfielder Mason Mount, 27, in the summer despite interest from Aston Villa and Fulham. (Football Insider), external

Aston Villa are one of the clubs interested in 28-year-old Wales attacking midfielder Harry Wilson, whose contract at Fulham runs out in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against West Ham at Craven Cottage (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Kevin's injury required surgery and he is now recovering, but it is "difficult to say" on when he will be able to return.

• Joachim Andersen is "100%" OK and will be back in the matchday squad against West Ham.

• Harry Wilson is still being assessed after picking up a knock on Sunday against Tottenham.

• Sasa Lukic is "progressing well" and getting "better and better" after picking up a hamstring injury in January. He added that "right now it is about his confidence and to get the right sharpness again".

• On Adama Traore returning to face his former club: "Adama is a top lad. He is someone we all loved at the football club. He was always ready to help the club. It will be nice to see him before or after the match."

• On the push for a European spot: "We are going to fight. We know that we probably deserve more points - sometimes we don't take points from games we are on top. We are in a position where we want to climb the table, definitely."

Follow all of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Fulham? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers

Drew Heatley
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

March has 'season defining' written all over it.

Our next three league games are against teams in the bottom four of the Premier League, starting against 18th-placed West Ham on Wednesday. And sandwiched in the middle of that, we have a home FA Cup tie against Championship opposition.

Southampton stand between us and a third quarter-final under Marco Silva.

Our win over Spurs this weekend was our eighth at Craven Cottage this season – but the game against West Ham is far from a foregone conclusion.

The Hammers have gained more than half their points total away from London Stadium this season and arrive at the Cottage showing signs of fight under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Our only trip this month is to the City Ground, to face a Nottingham Forest side who are without a win in five and have had more managers this season than home wins.

We round off the month at home to Burnley. The fans would love nothing more than getting another win over former manager Scott Parker, and with just one win in 10, anything less than three points is not acceptable.

The Whites already have wins this season against all three of our remaining March league opponents. Doing the double over them all – as we did Spurs – would probably see us rocketed into the top six before an extremely tricky April.

Lose too many and all conversation of European football and cup glory will be firmly on ice until August.

It certainly feels like make or break for Silva's five-year project.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish, external