Nigerian trio face another derby weekend

Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey

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Fulham’s Nigerian trio of Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze face another London derby weekend when they host Crystal Palace on Sunday, just days after their thrilling 5-4 defeat to Manchester City, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Cottagers came within centimetres of one of the Premier League’s all-time greatest comebacks at Craven Cottage on Tuesday, with the Nigerian contingent playing crucial roles in the dramatic fightback from 5-1 down.

Chukwueze scored twice in six minutes while Iwobi curled in a peach of a strike from 20 yards to make it 5-2, as Fulham threatened an epic turnaround before Josko Gvardiol cleared Joshua King’s injury-time effort off the line.

Tuesday’s absorbing affair saw Fulham enter an unwanted club, becoming just the third team after Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur to lose a home game in the Premier League after scoring four goals.

Marco Silva’s 15th-placed side are only five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone, although nine of Fulham’s 17 points this term have been won in their last five games.

Sunday’s opponents, Crystal Palace, boast the Premier League’s second-best defensive record, having been breached just 11 times all season. Oliver Glasner’s fifth-placed side trail fourth-placed Chelsea by just one point and recorded their seventh clean sheet of the campaign in midweek with a 1-0 win over Burnley.

A recent Premier League report has named Chukwueze as the single biggest problem for Crystal Palace in this crunch fixture, pointing to his pace, trickery and balance as near impossible to contain once he gains momentum. Since arriving on a season-long loan from AC Milan, the Nigerian international has been averaging a goal involvement every 46 minutes.

Sunday’s encounter will be Chukwueze’s last home game before leaving for AFCON 2025 with his national teammates Iwobi and Bassey. Fellow Nigerian Christantus Uche is at Palace but is unlikely to feature in their encounter as he continues to be out of Glasner’s plans.

Fulham are remarkably waiting for their first Premier League win over the Eagles at Craven Cottage since January 2005, when Andy Cole bagged a brace.

Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories

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