5 bold Premier League predictions: Tottenham beat Chelsea

2. Ranieri gets first win as Fulham boss

Fulham finally sacked Slavisa Jokanovic after their loss to Liverpool before the international break and replaced him with Claudio Ranieri. Jokanovic worked wonders to get the Cottagers up to the Premier League but ultimately his methods weren’t working in the top flight.

It’s always an incredibly difficult decision for the club to let a manager go in circumstances like that but the cost/reward of relegation/promotion is so huge that the decision almost needs to be made.

Sticking with a manager through promotion and relegation can work — Sean Dyche at Burnley is proof of that. However, Fulham spent over $150 million in the summer transfer window and have almost nothing to show for it so far.

Ranieri has a lot of pressure on him and this will not be an easy turnaround. The Italian is perhaps a little lucky, then, that his first game comes at home against a Southampton side that have also struggled this season.

The Saints are hovering just above the relegation zone and only three points ahead of their opposition on Saturday. Ranieri will know that this is a brilliant opportunity for him to get the fans back on side and for his side to get a much needed win.

Fulham’s downfall this season has been the lack of willingness to change the style of soccer they play. They’ve tried to play in the manner that got them promoted but it’s left them too exposed defensively. Premier League teams are picking them apart and it’s almost a certainty that the first thing Ranieri has worked on in training is defending.

The Cottagers look pretty good going forward but at the back they’ve been very poor. This weekend they will prove that they can remain in this division with an important win over fellow strugglers Southampton.