MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 18:04:29| >> :60:151:151:

Scott Parker intends to rotate Fulham squad for Ipswich cup tie

Alphonse Areola, Mario Lemina, Kenny Tete, Ola Aina and Antonee Robinson could make their debuts.

Scott Parker will rotate the squad as the Fulham manager looks to build match fitness and reach the Carabao Cup third round at the expense of Ipswich.

The Sky Bet Championship play-off winners returned to Premier League action with a whimper as Arsenal ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in Saturday's season opener at Craven Cottage.

Fulham now head to Portman Road looking for victory against Paul Lambert's League One side in the Carabao Cup second round – an encounter Parker intends to make changes in.

Alphonse Areola, Mario Lemina, Kenny Tete, Ola Aina and Antonee Robinson have yet to make their debut since their summer arrivals, while others left out of the line-up against Arsenal need minutes.

"It's a competition that we respect," Parker said. "A good cup run, we know that that can build confidence and momentum.

"And also, at the same time it helps in terms of getting players minutes and getting players up to speed, those who haven't been with us too long or haven't played a lot of football or trained a lot due to the circumstances of having such a short pre-season.

"But as much as we want to get minutes into the boys to get them up to speed, we also want to go and win the game.

"We want to stay in the competition and hopefully be successful in it.

"Winning is the most important thing. Every time you play a football match, you want to win.

"It's an opportunity for us to win a game, which is what we plan to do every game this year.

"We understand we're not going to be able to do that every week, but our ambition is to try and win football matches, so this gives us a good platform to try and do that and then build from it."

Fulham's side is bound to be full of quality despite his planned changes on Wednesday when Parker will not allow complacency to seep in against third-tier opposition.

"They've got a good manager, an experienced manager in Paul, and a team which has some good young talent in there, mixed with some good experience with the older pros," he told the club's website.

"They've got all the dynamics to do very well this year. They're a good side who try and play the right way, so it's going to be a tough game for us.

"They try and play football, they like to get the ball down. They've got technical players, players who like the ball on the floor.

"And like I said, they've got a good blend of talented younger players alongside some older, more experienced players in (Luke) Chambers and people like that."

ID:414446: cacheID:414446:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4353:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Liverpool's Divock Origi pictured in July 2020
Read Next:
Liverpool 'willing to accept £14m for Origi'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!