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Fulham beat Hull City 1-0 at Craven Cottage in Matchweek 7, Alex Iwobi scoring in the 34th minute with a shot that trickled through Konstantinos Tzolakis's arms. Fulham had most of the chances, Gonzalo Garcia hit the bar in the 74th minute, and they finished with ten men after Ryan Sessegnon was sent off in stoppage time for a late challenge on Robinio Vaz. It's Alvaro Arbeloa's first Premier League win as Fulham head coach and ends a run of six straight defeats. That lifts Fulham out of the relegation zone, while Hull stay on 9 points after what their own manager called their worst performance since he took charge.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Fulham are bottom of the table with two points from six games and have not won all season. Hull, newly promoted, sit comfortably in the top half on nine points. Lose at home to the promoted side and the pressure on the Fulham dugout gets properly loud, with Alvaro Arbeloa already reported to be feeling it after two late goals cost them points recently.
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2These two have not met in the league since 2009, so nobody in the pub has a fresh grudge to bring up. The one useful nugget: Fulham have won each of their last four meetings in all competitions. That is the sort of record that sounds reassuring right up until you remember where Fulham are in the table.
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3Player to watch is Hull's Mohamed Belloumi. He has three goals and two assists already, so he has had a hand in five of Hull's eight league goals. If you want to sound clued up, say Fulham's whole afternoon is about stopping him. It is a reasonable bet, and nobody will check.
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4The subplot is injuries at both ends. Fulham are doubtful over Antonee Robinson and Tom Cairney, while Hull are without Jack Butland, Eliot Matazo and Matt Targett. Check the team sheets about an hour before kick-off, because that is when the real story will be sitting there.
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5The hook is the promotion story. Hull went up via the play-off final, with Oliver McBurnie scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time, and they have been surprisingly hard to beat since: two wins and three draws from six. A bottom-placed side against a team that refuses to lose is a fun little collision. Hull winning at Craven Cottage would be the kind of result that gets mentioned all week.
Team Talking Points
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1Fulham drew 1-1 with Newcastle at Craven Cottage on Saturday, and it took a late scramble. Jacob Murphy put Newcastle ahead with a stunner in the 80th minute, before substitute Rodrigo Muniz flicked in an equaliser three minutes later. It was his first Premier League goal in seven months, so the celebration had some feeling behind it.
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2Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid and Liverpool defender, has Fulham on 10 points from 10 games. That's not thrilling, but they took eight of those points from the last four matches. They go into the break feeling a lot better than they did a month ago.
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3Odd but true: that was Fulham's first ever Premier League draw at home to Newcastle. It's the kind of trivia that makes you sound like you've got the stats app open under the table.
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4The reward for that improvement is a trip to Manchester City on 21 November when the league comes back. Expectations will be realistic. Mind you, City just lost 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, so a Fulham fan might be quietly hopeful.
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5Fulham are one of those clubs that never seem to be in the headlines, which suits them fine. The ground sits right on the Thames and has a 'neutral' section, a genuinely unusual thing in English football. Ask a Fulham fan about it and they'll be delighted someone noticed.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Eight points from the last four is decent going. Arbeloa's got Fulham ticking again, and Muniz scoring off the bench never hurts.
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Avoid saying
"Fulham? They're just a nice day out by the river" — it's meant kindly, but saying it out loud tells every Fulham fan you think their club's a tourist attraction rather than a football team.
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1Hull lost 1-0 at league leaders Arsenal on Saturday. Martin Ødegaard pounced on a rebound in the 72nd minute after Hull's keeper parried a Noni Madueke shot. Losing narrowly at the Emirates is no disgrace for a promoted side, and Hull fans know it.
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2Manager Sergej Jakirovic was bullish afterwards. He reckoned Hull were the better team on performance and had enough chances to win, adding that the side is 'still growing'. Arsenal fans would disagree, but it's a nice sign that he's not playing for damage limitation.
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3The season started like a dream. Hull had seven points from their first three games and briefly sat second, behind only Manchester City. They haven't won a league game since August, though. It's a winless run of the sort that slowly turns a fairytale into a relegation conversation.
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4Jakirovic only arrived in the summer of 2025 and took Hull up through the Championship play-offs at the first attempt. That's a genuinely impressive bit of work, and Hull fans are still very much on his side. Credit him and you'll be on safe ground.
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5The last outing before Arsenal was a 2-2 draw with fellow promoted side Ipswich, where Hull let a lead slip. Jakirovic publicly demanded better 'control' when they're ahead. Throwing away winning positions is the recurring theme of their autumn.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Hull went to the Emirates and made Arsenal sweat. They just need to remember how to actually win one before the winless run starts to matter.
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Avoid saying
"Hull will be straight back down" — said with total confidence in August, it looked silly when they were second in the table, and fans have not forgotten who was saying it.