Fulham square off against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday evening looking to extend their winning streak in the Championship to five matches.
However, their hosts have also posted back-to-back wins, results which have moved Tony Mowbray's side up to seventh position in the standings.
Match preview
© Reuters
Even with the season being under three months old, there was a feeling ahead of Fulham's meeting with West Bromwich Albion that it could prove decisive in the promotion race further down the line.
While fortune was on their side, the Cottagers made light work of their rivals, running out 3-0 victors to move four points clear of third position.
Marco Silva will insist that his squad will focus on one game at a time, but the West Londoners will sense that there is an opportunity to heap the pressure on the clubs below them.
Aleksandar Mitrovic remains in stunning form, the Serbia international netting all three goals at the weekend to take his tally to 18 strikes from 15 appearances.
Although Fulham end the latest period with successive away games, it is difficult to back against Silva's men from recording two more convincing wins.
© Reuters
Nevertheless, Blackburn will be optimistic of extending their own run of positive form on Wednesday night after moving closer to the playoffs.
Rovers prevailed past Reading and Derby County at the back end of October, Ben Brereton Diaz now scoring 12 times this season courtesy of his double versus the latter.
More importantly for Mowbray, his side have started to look stronger in defence, an improvement which was needed with 17 goals being conceded in 13 outings before the most recent double-header.
Although two tough games with Fulham and Sheffield United await his side, Mowbray will feel that his team are playing with such a belief that two more wins should not be out of the question.
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Silva could call upon Michael Hector for the first time this season with Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo serving a suspension.
Meanwhile, Fabio Carvalho is back in contention after recovering from coronavirus, though the youngster may have to bide his time for a starting role.
Tom Cairney is also an option if Silva opts for fresh legs in the middle of the pitch.
Whether Mowbray names an unchanged Blackburn XI will depend on the fitness of defenders Ryan Nyambe and Daniel Ayala.
Despite both players missing out with minor injuries at the weekend, it would not come as a surprise if they were restored at right-back and centre-back respectively.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Buckley, Van Hecke, Lenihan, Edun; Travis, Rothwell, Johnson; Dolan, Gallagher, Brereton
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak, Odoi, Hector, Ream, Robinson; Seri, Reed; Wilson, Decordova-Reid, Kebano; Mitrovic
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Fulham
Blackburn will fancy their chances of causing an upset on Wednesday, particularly with the pressure off to a certain extent. However, we simply cannot back against Fulham right now, leaving us to predict a convincing win for the Cottagers.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fulham win with a probability of 50.11%. A win for Blackburn Rovers had a probability of 25.82% and a draw had a probability of 24.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fulham win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.6%) and 0-2 (8.38%). The likeliest Blackburn Rovers win was 1-0 (6.72%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.35%). The actual scoreline of 0-7 was predicted with a 0% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Fulham would win this match.
