1. In their dark green away strip, Arsenal get their final match of 2023 underway, knowing that a win will take them back to the top of the Premier League - for 24 hours at least.
In their traditional white shirts and black shorts, Fulham are attacking the Putney End in the first half. Or perhaps, more pertinently, Fulham are defending the Hammersmith End in the first half.
And speaking of fresh, there's a fresh blast of cold winter air blowing off the Thames at Craven Cottage - it's almost enough to dislodge Tom Cairney's immaculate hair.
The Fulham captain leads his team out alongside his Arsenal counterpart Martin Odegaard, and into this famous and fantastic old ground.
Two sets of London supporters await their teams, one hopeful, the other expecting.
Kick-off comes next.
Mikel Arteta insisted that the changes he made today are as much about keeping his squad fresh at the end of the busy Christmas period as it his about players underperforming,
It's about the three changes and bringing some energy in the team today. We played less than 72 hours ago and we're going to need plenty of energy to beat Fulham. I fully trust my players, we are generating so many chances.
Mikel Arteta
Can Martin Odegaard step up today and deliver a captain's performance?
The Norwegian was on target in both wins against Fulham last season.
Arsenal arrive at Craven Cottage today, having won on each of their last five Premier League visits.
In fact, the Gunners have bagged at least three goals in the last four of those games..
Only at Aston Villa between 1932 and 1939 have Arsenal ever scored 3+ goals in five consecutive away league games against an opponent.
With just over ten hours left until we welcome in the new year, Arsenal will be hoping to sign off on an impressive 2023 with a win.
The signs are good too. The Gunners have won their final league game in 12 of the last 16 calendar years (D2 L2), including the last three in a row.
They North Londoners won 4-2 at Brighton on New Year’s Eve last season, and today will be first time that they have played on December 31st in consecutive years.
Despite one change in defence, midfield and attack, Mikel Arteta sticks with his fluid 4-3-3 shape for the trip to Craven Cottage.
The Gunners back four is made up of a quartet that play their best football in the centre, but it iwll be up to Ben White and Jakub Kiwior to provide width as well as support for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Martin Odegaard captains the side, and plays alongside Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in a midfield three.
Alex Iwobi is one of three former Arsenal players in the Fulham starting line-up this afternoon - and the Nigerian looks primed for a central role.
In the absence of Andreas Pereira, Iwobi will play through the middle rather than on the wing, and that may allow another ex-Arsenal man in Willian to shine.
Mikel Arteta also makes three changes to his side as they look to bounce back in their second London derby in four days.
Gabriel Jesus limped out of the 2-0 home defeat to West Ham, and begins today on the bench which means a starting spot in attack for Eddie Nketiah.
In midfield, Kai Havertz is back up after his one-game ban, and takes over duties from Leandro Trossard.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has picked up an injury since Thursday's loss, a game in which he performed poorly, and so Jakub Kiwior comes in for the Ukrainian.
Arsenal (4-3-3): 22 Raya; 4 White, 2 Saliba, 6 Gabriel, 15 Kiwior; 8 Odegaard, 41 Rice, 29 Havertz; 7 Saka, 14 Nketiah, 11 Martinelli
Subs: 1 Ramsdale, 9 Jesus, 10 Smith Rowe, 17 Cedric, 18 Tomiyasu, 19 Trossard, 20 Jorginho, 24 Nelson, 25 Elneny
Marco Silva welcomes back Raul Jimenez and former Arsenal man Willian for the final game of 2023 as he makes three changes in total for the visit of the Gunners.
Striker Raul returns following a three-game suspension for his red card at Newcastle while Brazilian Willian has shaken off a hamstring problem.
The pair are in for Rodrigo Muniz and Andreas Pereira, who both drop to the bench.
The Cottagers' third change comes at right-back where Timothy Castagne is favoured to Kenny Tete.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): 17 Leno; 21 Castagne, 4 Tosin, 3 Bassey, 33 Robinson; 20 Palhinha, 10 Cairney; 14 Decordova-Reid, Iwobi, 20 Willian; 7 Jimenez
Subs: 1 Rodak, 2 Tete, 6 Reed, 8 Wilson, 12 Ballo-Toure, 18 Pereira, 19 Muniz, 28 Lukic, 31 Diop
When these clubs met back in August, Arsenal dropped their first points of the season - against the odds.
Coming off a 3-0 home defeat to Brentford, Fulham stunned the Emirates by taking the lead in the opening 60 seconds as Andreas Pereira took advantage of a defensive mix-up.
The visitors held out until the 70th minute when they were undone by two quick goals. First, Bukayo Saka converted a penalty, and then the England star was allowed to continue an attack despite fouling Calvin Bassey with Eddie Nketiah eventually firing the hosts in front.
In a frantic finale, Bassey were red carded on his first Premier League start, but the West Londoners were not to be denied.
From an 87th-minute Harrison Corner corner, Palhinha hooked in an equaliser to spark wild scenes in the away end.
Following that 2-2 draw, Fulham are looking to avoid defeat in both meetings with the Gunners in a Premier League single season for just the third time - following 2011-12 (W1 D1) and 2008-09 (W1 D1).
Arsenal were stunned on Thursday night by West Ham, the team that Fulham thrashed three weeks ago, so the Cottagers should run out clear winners this afternoon... that's how it works, right? Well, not quite. Instead, the Gunners have been chalked up at odds-on for victory and nobody is surprised, while the home side can be backed at 5/1.
Odds from Paddy Power correct at the time of post publication.
And welcome to live coverage of Fulham versus Arsenal in the Premier League.
It's the final day of the year, and the Gunners have the opportunity to begin 2024 at the top of the tree with a win here.
But the Cottagers have shown they are still capable of upsetting the odds despite an inconsistent season without Aleksandar Mitrovic.
That was apparent in the reverse meeting when these London clubs met at the Emirates back in August with Marco Silva's men fighting back with ten men to snatch a 2-2 draw.
Recent 5-0 thrashings of Nottingham Forest and West Ham were followed by three successive defeats without scoring, and a visit from last season's runners-up is a tough task with which to end 2023.
It's a 2pm kick-off in SW6, and team news is on the way.
