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Alvaro Arbeloa is facing the prospect of a dressing-room revolt at Craven Cottage only a few weeks after taking charge.

Fulham could end up losing their first four Premier League matches of the new season this weekend, and that would be a major setback for Arbeloa.

The Spaniard is quickly becoming the leading candidate to be the first manager sacked in the Premier League this season.

A winless opening to the campaign has pushed Fulham into turmoil, leaving the former Real Madrid interim boss battling to preserve both his authority and his position before this weekend’s trip to Liverpool.

After succeeding Marco Silva in the summer, Arbeloa received strong backing from the club’s board in the transfer window.

The 43-year-old turned to his former club to reshape the squad, bringing in the Real Madrid trio of Cesar Palacios, Gonzalo Garcia and Manuel Angel.

But because of Arbeloa’s tactical alterations and, at least on the face of it, an obvious preference for his former Bernabeu arrivals, he has ended up alienating established members of the squad.

Alex Iwobi has been moved away from his natural position out wide and used instead in central midfield, a switch widely seen as a way to make room for Palacios on the wing.

Meanwhile, £34 million midfielder Emile Smith Rowe appears to have been pushed to the fringes, having played only 25 Premier League minutes in total from the bench across Fulham’s first three defeats.

Tension is also increasing internally with Brazilian winger Kevin. As reported by Saturday White Fever, Fulham are facing an ultimatum only four weeks into the new season.

Kevin, the club’s record signing, and Arbeloa are understood to have clashed over the former Shakhtar Donetsk player’s lack of game time. He has managed only 24 league minutes so far this season and was an unused substitute in last weekend’s defeat to Crystal Palace.

In the immediate aftermath of that loss to Palace, Kevin posted a cryptic message on social media that read: ‘no speak, no hear, no see’. The post has widely been taken as a protest against Arbeloa’s team selection and possibly his overall management style as well.

It is now understood that Kevin is likely to push for a move away from Craven Cottage in the January transfer window unless the board decide to sack Arbeloa before then.

More worryingly for Fulham, the unhappiness is not limited to one player. In what looks like a coordinated move, both Iwobi and Smith Rowe have cleared their official Instagram accounts, deleting all previous posts showing them in Fulham colours.

With a poor record going into the trip to Anfield, Arbeloa’s gamble and handling of the squad have left him with very little room for error.

If Fulham suffer another damaging defeat against Liverpool, or if the side turns in another flat performance, the board may have little choice but to intervene.

The nature of the display on Merseyside could prove decisive and may bring an early end to the manager’s short spell in West London.