• Premier League

Jol promises Fulham will attack Man City

Martin Jol looks at the crowd © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Mancini tells City to be ruthless like Utd
  

Fulham manager Martin Jol has pledged to attack free-scoring Manchester City when they go head-to-head at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

Fulham are still searching for their first win of the Premier League season, having collected only two points so far. In contrast, City have won all four of their games, racking up an impressive 15 goals in the process.

Despite the wealth of attacking talent at Roberto Mancini's disposal, Jol says he will send his team out with instructions to go at their opponents.

"I plan for us to attack on Sunday,'' Jol said. "They play attacking football but still with two defensive midfielders and four players at the back.

"They don't take a lot of initiative but they've got four quality players that try to get behind your midfield. They have a lot of quality. We have to come up with something to stop that and still get goals.

"If we would have won the first two home games (against Aston Villa and Blackburn) we would have six points and this game would be a different matter. Now you have to gain your own spirit, your own confidence for the game.''

City come into the match off the back of their Champions League debut, which ended in a 1-1 draw against Napoli at the Etihad Stadium. Fulham also had European exertions to contend with in midweek, drawing 1-1 with Jol's former club FC Twente at Craven Cottage.

"I felt the first half we played very good football,'' he said. "One-touch, two-touch football with five or six different players and we did well. In the second half it is always the same - if you try to force something you give away space.

"But I couldn't gamble on a draw against Twente as I need to get everybody back in shape. If you see Thursday, for example - it is a different matter to last Sunday [against Blackburn].

"Bright points were Pajtim Kasami at 19 years of age played well and I thought Chris Baird too did well, playing for the first time in the centre. Of course he has done that before in his career but it was a little bit of a gamble and he did well. The only negative thing is you don't score the goals you need.''

Baird could again feature for Jol's side on Sunday with Aaron Hughes struggling with a knee injury and new signing Zdenek Grygera still bedding in. The Northern Ireland international is excited by the prospect of facing Roberto Mancini's side and believes Fulham can secure a positive result against the odds.

"Our thoughts now turn to the game with Manchester City on Sunday and we all know that we need to get that first win,'' Baird said. "City are doing extremely well at the moment so people will say that may be easier said than done.

"They are a top quality side but we're playing them at Craven Cottage and we all know that we are capable of taking three points off any team there. Hopefully that will be the case because it would give us a massive boost. We're looking forward to getting out there with them and we'll make sure we are firing on all cylinders."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.