Liverpool appear to be facing Fulham at a time when Cottagers fans are encouraged by their current form, but absent players make it the “right time” to visit.The Reds made an infuriating start to 2026, drawing 0-0 with Leeds at Anfield, and improvements are needed at Fulham on Sunday.Marco Silva’s side have picked up 10 points from their last four Premier League games, with survival once again looking all but secured.With the action close, we spoke to Fulham fan and journalist Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) to preview an important game for both sides. How would you assess Fulham’s season so far? Happy overall?The main priority for Fulham fans every year is to stay firmly away from the relegation battle, so in that sense, yes, fans will very much be pleased with the season.There is always a secret desire in the hearts of Cottagers to see the club return to the fringes of the battle for European places, and that feels quite far off at the moment.But there can be few major complaints with the way things have gone so far this campaign. How happy are you with the job Marco Silva is doing?I feel like a broken record at this point, but Marco Silva is the greatest asset this team currently has employed. He is more important than any player at the moment.Every year, we enter the season with an inordinate amount of holes in the squad, and this season was no different, possibly even more so – and yet Silva manages to keep this club overperforming to a remarkable degree.Some managers aren’t cut out for the highest levels of European football, but are instead meant to squeeze the most out of a piecemeal squad.Silva is a prime example of that. He has found his sweet spot and is excelling. Once his time in SW6 is up, Fulham will have a serious problem on their hands finding an adequate replacement. Which three players have impressed most for Fulham?The three most important players to this Fulham squad at this stage are Antonee Robinson, Iwobi and Joachim Andersen.Robinson missed nearly the entire first half of the season due to injury, Iwobi’s away at AFCON (along with the intrepid Calvin Bassey and new signing Samuel Chukwueze) and Anderson had a slow start to the season.Yet Fulham sit in 11th as the calendar turns to 2026. Remarkable.Ryan Sessegnon has been a wonderful surprise in his return to the club after struggling to find greener pastures, while Kenny Tete looks himself again after a difficult spell with injuries.It still shocks me that Lukic and Reed are contributors to this team, but credit to them, they repeatedly prove themselves capable. New signing Kevin has been exactly as fun as promised when he arrived from Shakhtar.There aren’t too many players who have obviously struggled, but the biggest one that comes to mind is Emile Smith Rowe.He is having a better season than his first campaign at Craven Cottage, which is something at least, but he remains miles off justifying the club-record fee paid to acquire him.He’s still just 25, and so there is hope that he can continue this slow upward trajectory, but the fact that he remains short of being an everyday starter is still a major concern. Do you think you will avoid relegation come May? Where will you finish?There’s already a 13-point gap between Fulham and the relegation zone, so I have no worries about the club being sucked into the vortex.I don’t think they are an 11th-placed team when looking over the squad, but we’ve been here before with a Silva-coached team.I think 12th is probably about right for where they can finish come May.There is a significant lower-tier contingent developing in the Premier League, so I could even see them finishing 14th or 15th, but still with a large gap between themselves and the relegation zone.Eighth is probably the ceiling; they’re not a contender for the fringe European places. How do you assess Liverpool’s season? Would you stick with Slot?I have waffled over Arne Slot’s credentials countless times this season. There are valid arguments to be made on both sides.The suggestion that Slot won the title ‘with Klopp’s team’ is ludicrous, because if that were the case, he should just be able to do it again this year.Yes, they made significant changes in the summer, but they weren’t so much changes as they were additions, and he could very easily just run it back with pretty much exactly what he had last year.The problem is that Slot has not yet been able to adapt to the EXTREMELY rapid change in the football meta this season.There has been a significant shift in the overall style of play in Europe’s big five leagues this season, and the Premier League has seen the greatest shift of them all.Fewer teams press and more teams play long balls. It has infuriated Slot to the point of madness — pull up any of his recent press conferences and you’ll see him complain about teams going long against Liverpool at least twice.I have no doubts that he is a very good manager, but where I do have my doubts is how he can adapt.Man United are, to my continued bewilderment, sticking with their notoriously unadaptable manager through much worse, so it’s not crazy for FSG (who are known for their stay-the-course mentality) to remain behind Slot.As we’ve seen the last month or two, Liverpool under Slot are very much still a contender for a Champions League place.But I still wonder if his inability to adapt will continue to cause problems if this shift in the overall philosophy of their opponents continues. If you could only have one Liverpool player at Fulham, who would it be and why?If you asked me this question in the summer, I would have had a completely different answer than I do now. At that point, there would be two clear winners in my mind — Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz.I have always been a serious admirer of Mac Allister, and still am, but his cavernous drop-off in form this season has me concerned.As for Wirtz, I was very much a fan of Liverpool writing a blank check for his services, as players with his capabilities don’t come around very often.I covered Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso quite closely, even taking a trip from the States over to Germany to watch them play — he’s utterly brilliant.Now, I’m not so sure. I would still gobble up either for Fulham in a heartbeat, of course, but this season, one player has emerged I never would have considered six months ago.Dominik Szoboszlai has the perfect mix of versatility, grit, heart, football IQ and pure skill. You can play him anywhere and Silva probably would. He would be my pick. Where do you see the key battles taking place on Sunday?The most important battle here is, as it always is, in midfield, but for a different reason than you might normally hear following that cliche.This Liverpool team has been beaten by much worse sides in the middle of the pitch this season, because they struggle to handle more direct play.Thankfully for the Reds, Fulham aren’t exactly the most direct team the Premier League has ever seen, but they certainly can play that way.Jimenez is strong in the air up front and their centre-backs are happy to take space on the ball to get them in a better position before they counter.If Ryan Gravenberch and Mac Allister control the game, Fulham will lose. If they give the ball away to pressure, there will be points to be had in this match. What’s your prediction?I would have rated Fulham’s chances much more had they not been missing three of their most influential players, currently leading Nigeria in a strong AFCON campaign.I see Liverpool winning this one 2-0, and quite comfortably so.Fulham can trouble a top side on their day, but they’re too thin at the moment to pose much of a threat. You are catching them at the right time.