Fulham welcome West Bromwich Albion to Craven Cottage in a huge foot of Premier League table clash in the opening part of a Monday Night Football double bill, as two promoted clubs collide.
Victory will lift Fulham out of the relegation zone at West Brom’s expense as the Baggies would replace the Cottagers in the bottom three unless they take a win, which will see them move above Brighton into 16th.
Team News
Joachim Andersen could make his debut for Fulham after recovering from an ankle injury which kept him out of their last two matches against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace respectively.
Neeskens Kebano is a doubt with a knock and could join Aboubakar Kamara (suspension), Kenny Tete (calf), Terence Kongolo (foot) and Joshua Onomah (undisclosed) on sidelines.
West Brom could welcome Dara O’Shea back from an ankle injury but Sam Field (knee) and Hal Robson-Kanu (elbow) remain absent until after the international break.
Stat Attack
- Fulham are unbeaten in their last nine league meetings against West Brom (W3, D6).
- West Brom are winless in their last seven visits to Craven Cottage (D3, L4).
- There have been five red cards in 16 previous Premier League meetings between Fulham and West Brom, with the Cottagers picking up three of those red cards compared to West Brom’s two.
- Outside of the top two teams – Everton and Liverpool, West Brom’s Matheus Pereira has produced more shots than any other Premier League player with 11 shots in six appearances coming into this round.
- Only one of Fulham’s five goals so far this season have come from a header, courtesy of Aleksandr Mitrovic.
Prediction
Defending remains Fulham’s biggest issue because they were absolutely dominated by Crystal Palace last weekend, despite continuing to offer glimpses of their attacking quality which is what they need to show more of.
West Brom meanwhile just seem to be inconsistent but if there is a match which could provide them with a serious breakthrough then this is the game, because they do possess a stronger attacking style which will surely pernitrate Fulham’s weak defence.
Given the defensive issues of both teams, I personally don’t feel like this will be anything decent but if West Brom can show their better quality, they should have the edge here.
Prediction: Fulham 0-1 WBA