Fulham make the trip to Swansea City on Tuesday evening with the opportunity to extend their 11-point advantage at the top of the Championship standings.
At a time when the Cottagers have prevailed in five of their last six fixtures, 16th-placed Swansea have collected 12 points of their own over the same amount of games.
Match preview
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While Marco Silva would prefer to see his Fulham side continuing with their goalfests for the remainder of the season, the Portuguese will much prefer that more points are added to their total with regularity.
That is how things are currently panning out with 15 points coming from a possible 18, their latest success coming on Saturday as they defeated Blackburn Rovers by a 2-0 scoreline.
Neeskens Kebano and Harry Wilson both got on the scoresheet in the first half, chipping in with important contributions on an off day for Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Realistically, third-placed Bournemouth remain their nearest challengers due to having two matches in hand, but the Cottagers would still hold a six-point advantage even if the Cherries gain maximum points from that double-header.
Although five wins from their last 12 games would likely be enough to secure a return to the top flight, Silva will settle for nothing less than winning the Championship title.
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If recent results are anything to go by, Swansea will prove to be tough opposition with Russell Martin's team producing two much-improved performances over the past week.
After netting two late goals to see off West Bromwich Albion, the Welsh outfit backed up that result with a 3-1 success over another promotion-chasing team in Coventry City.
Michael Obafemi made it four goals in six appearances with a double, getting on the scoresheet after Jamie Paterson had netted his first strike since November 27.
Swansea's resurgence has likely come too late to put together a late bid for the playoffs, but having at least one game in hand on all of their nearest rivals, there is scope to get back into the mix.
While Swansea only possess the 14th-best home record in the division, they have posted four wins from five in front of their own supporters.
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Team News
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Given the level of their first-half performance against Coventry, Swansea boss Martin may be prepared to name an unchanged side.
While Korey Smith deputised in an unfamiliar role last time out, the midfielder was excellent at left wing-back, doing enough to earn himself another start.
There also seems little reason for Silva to tinker with his Fulham outfit after a strong display versus Blackburn.
The Portuguese does possess plenty of alternatives, however, with Nathaniel Chalobah an option to replace Jean Michael Seri.
Bobby Decordova-Reid could also be drafted into the final third if Silva feels that fresh legs are required.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Cabango, Naughton, Manning; Christie, Downes, Grimes, Smith; Paterson, Piroe; Obafemi
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Williams, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Chalobah; Wilson, Carvalho, Kebano; Mitrovic
We say: Swansea City 1-2 Fulham
With Swansea on an upward trajectory, this could prove to be a far more competitive fixture than many would have anticipated as little as a week ago. However, we feel that Fulham will show a greater ruthlessness in the final third to secure another important three points.
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 50.69%. A win for Swansea City had a probability of 24.85% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fulham win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.76%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.59%) and 0-2 (8.88%). The likeliest Swansea City win was 1-0 (7.04%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.62%). The actual scoreline of 1-5 was predicted with a 0.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Fulham would win this match.
