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Fulham and Crystal Palace meet at Craven Cottage this Saturday, with both teams looking to secure their first Premier League wins of the season. Álvaro Arbeloa's Cottagers lost a thriller 3-2 to Chelsea on the opening Monday Night Football before suffering a lacklustre 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last week. Like Fulham, this summer marked a transition period and a new era for the Eagles. Oliver Glasner, who guided Palace to FA Cup, Community Shield and Europa Conference League glory, departed after two years and was replaced by former RC Lens manager Pierre Sage. There have also been significant changes to the playing squad, with the departure of first-team regulars Maxence Lacroix, Brennan Johnson and Daniel Muñoz, alongside squad players such as Nathaniel Clyne and Justin Devenny. Starting the season with a 2-0 defeat at Everton, Palace's first home game of this new era began with a demoralising 4-1 defeat to Manchester City. Despite Yéremy Pino's lovely free kick, a double from both Erling Haaland and Ryan Cherki condemned Sage to back-to-back Premier League defeats. As Fulham search for a first home Premier League win against the Eagles since 2005, here is all the pre-match information you will need to know. Álvaro Arbeloa: A mixed start In all competitions, the former Real Madrid manager has secured one Carabao Cup victory alongside two Premier League defeats. In all three games, the good, the bad and the ugly of Arbeloa's tactical vision has been on display. Against Fulham's SW6 rivals on matchday one, Fulham were generally unlucky not to come away with a point. Offensively, it was a very encouraging performance for Fulham. The Cottagers played with attacking freedom, intensity, press and interchangeability that had not really been seen across the previous season. Josh King shone as Fulham adopted their new manager's high line. This allowed Timothy Castagne and Antonee Robinson to drift into midfield to offer more dynamism and tenacity – while Robinson, in the second half especially, was playing as an additional left winger. This exciting high line has its drawbacks. Defensively, Fulham were extremely exposed, and two of Chelsea's goals came as a direct result of brutally exposing these defensive shortcomings. There was limited structure, shape and organisation to Fulham's defence, and once Chelsea had played through Fulham's midfield, it was almost always a three vs two in their favour. Against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup, Fulham were not under the same pressure or press as they were against the Blues. This enabled the high line to work well because the Dons were happy to sit in and defend resolutely. Despite the difference in quality of the opposition, Fulham's intensity was impressive, and this resulted in numerous chances created and a greater sense of fluidity being displayed. Away at the Stadium of Light, Arbeloa seemed to have analysed and realised how poor Fulham were defensively against Chelsea. There was a clear tweak as Fulham were definitely more structured, patient and resolute in their defending, which allowed them to restrict Sunderland to half-chances for the majority of the game. However, while the Cottagers were better defensively, the West Londoners were non-existent when it came to creating attacking chances. Perhaps it was the physicality of Sunderland, but Fulham struggled to string together any goal-mouth opportunities as the Sunderland defence proved too difficult to unlock. Deadline Day Arrivals This game will be the first chance for the Craven Cottage faithful to see Fulham's Deadline Day signings in action. Swedish midfielder Hugo Larsson arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt, while Austrian centre-back David Affengruber arrived from Elche CF in La Liga. Arbeloa continued to use his Real Madrid contacts with the arrival of Spaniard Manuel Ángel from Los Blancos on a three-year deal. Larsson is a dynamic, tall central or defensive midfielder who is known for his ball progression, composure under pressure, and high work rate. Suited to Arbeloa's high-press, build-from-the-back, possession-reliant style of play, Affengruber is calm under pressure and prefers to start attacks rather than clear the ball blindly. Ángel is a technically gifted central midfielder who roams fluidly between a box-to-box number 8 and a deeper number 6 role. Affengruber's immediate plan will be to dislodge former Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen and make that right-side centre-back position his own, and he will hope to become Calvin Bassey's new long-term defensive partner. Former Frankfurt man Larsson faces serious competition from Shea Charles and Alex Iwobi for a role as Fulham's eight, while Sander Berge has been a constant in this team for two seasons and will fight to keep his starting spot. While opportunities appear to be limited for Ángel, Arbeloa has reportedly shown he is unafraid to trust youth over experience. Is this a must-win for the hosts? Following that 1-0 defeat in the North of England, Arbeloa is definitely in need of getting the burden of a first win off his back. After this game, Fulham return to the North to face Liverpool at Anfield, before Michael Carrick's Manchester United arrive at the Cottage in the last Premier League game before the first international break of the season. Palace are in an extremely similar position to Fulham – winless in their first two but still adapting to a new manager's tweaks and philosophy. In the most brutal footballing league in the world, time is very rarely afforded to new managers. While calling this game a "must-win" already may seem a little extreme, Fulham really could do with three points. Past Game in Focus: Fulham 0-3 Crystal Palace (FA Cup Quarter-Final 24/25) Fulham were left heartbroken as their hopes of reaching a first FA Cup semi-final since 2002 were destroyed by a ruthless and brilliant Crystal Palace. Fulham started as the better team and were dominating possession when Adam Wharton was extremely lucky not to receive a second yellow card for a potential stamp. With Rodrigo Muniz unable to convert Fulham's best chance of the first 30 minutes, Palace went in front against the run of play when Eberechi Eze cut in from the left and curled a beautiful low shot around Bernd Leno and in off the far post. This goal was followed by a Fulham capitulation as Ismaïla Sarr headed in an Eze cross four minutes later to effectively seal the tie. Willian forced Dean Henderson into a fine save, and Calvin Bassey had a header cleared off the line. Despite the introduction of Adama Traoré, Emile Smith Rowe and Raul Jimenez, Eddie Nketiah slotted the ball under Leno's legs for Palace's third – who subsequently won the competition for the first time. Last Five - Crystal Palace 1-1 Fulham (25/26) - Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace (25/26) - Fulham 0-3 Crystal Palace (24/25 FA Cup Quarter Final) - Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace (24/25) - Crystal Palace 0-2 Fulham (24/25)