Fulham Preview

Another Wednesday match, another trip to West London for us. Before the season commenced, I predicted Fulham to be very much in and around the promotion places. However, they said the same thing about us in our first season in the Championship.

They are currently managerless, having sacked Felix Magath but we all know that this can fire up players who may being trying to impress onlooking possible future managers. Their form, like ours, has been shocking so far this season. However, they managed a victory over Birmingham- the same team we managed our first win against last season.

Despite their poor start, we have to remember that we’re coming up against a very good Championship squad. Ross McCormack could very easily cause problems against our shaky defence. Hugo Rodallega and Bryan Ruiz are also likely to pose a threat. They also have Cauley Woodrow and Matt Smith who both have it in them to chip in with a goal or two. However, we did manage to keep Hazard at bay at Stamford Bridge, didn’t we?

Going forward, I think, is where we could cause problems. I wouldn’t normally say this, but I’d like to see Jermaine Beckford and Joe Mason line up together. I think their pace could cause a problem or two for their slightly slower defence. What I absolutely do not want to see is Joe Mason play up front on his own. He’s a talented player, but we’ve established that he simply cannot hold his own on his own as so to speak.

As far as our team is concerned, I don’t believe there to be any new injury concerns. Kevin McNaughton is back from his illness and played in the last match. Chris Herd hasn’t played a league match for months but could feature.

I’d like us to play a 4-4-2 with the following players starting: Lonergan, McNaughton, Mills, Dervite, Ream, Feeney, Spearing, Mavies, Lee, Mason, Beckford.

I just don’t have confidence in Dean Moxey. His Bolton Wanderers career has started very roughly. He certainly is a talented player- he’s done well at this level before and even impressed in the Premier League. However, his very first touches for Bolton against Watford, in which he almost gave away a goal, set the tone for a poor start to the season.

It would be nice to see Clayton feature- maybe come off the bench. I’d also be interested to see Chris Herd play in the midfield. He’s decent on the ball and neither Spearing nor Medo have been in great form recently.

I’m not sure what to expect from this match, we’ve been poor and they’ve been poor. We always seem to play teams in bad form and lose to them, ceasing their poor run. Dougie and the team really need a boost right now and I really hope that they can get one.

I’m going to go with a 3-2 to Fulham though, as I think they have too much quality going forward.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts below.