Both hoping to bounce back from agonising 1-0 defeats at the weekend, Fulham meet Nottingham Forest in Wednesday's Premier League clash at Craven Cottage.
Marco Silva's side came away empty-handed from their clash with Liverpool, which ended in a 4-3 win for the Reds, while Steve Cooper's team were put to the sword 1-0 by Everton.
Match preview
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Marco Silva's face said it all during Fulham's seven-goal extravaganza with Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, where the Cottagers came from behind twice in the first half to enter the tunnel on level terms thanks to Harry Wilson's strike and a Kenny Tete toe-poke in added time.
Fulham were on the cusp of ending the Reds' perfect Anfield sequence when Bobby Decordova-Reid towered over Kostas Tsimikas and headed home in the 80th minute, but Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold proceeded to break Cottagers' hearts, the latter striking a stunning winner in the 87th minute.
Fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers may feel that Fulham got their just desserts on Merseyside, having fallen victim to late controversy in the Cottagers' 3-2 victory six days prior to Fulham's excruciating Anfield defeat, which leaves Silva's men 14th in the Premier League table after 14 games.
The Cottagers still possess a healthy eight-point cushion over the relegation places, but a prolonged run of dissatisfactory defensive performances could drag them closer to danger; Silva's side have now shipped nine goals in their last three games and are without a clean sheet in 10 matches in all tournaments.
With three triumphs and three defeats at Craven Cottage in the 2023-24 Premier League season, Fulham have followed a win-loss pattern at home this term; not a good omen for the Cottagers faithful, and nor is their side's record of failing to win their last 11 top-flight games played on a Wednesday.
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Only one place and two points separates Fulham from their upcoming opponents in the Premier League table, leaving the Cottagers at risk of being leapfrogged by Nottingham Forest should their inconsistent home pattern continue, but the Tricky Trees have not proven a tricky test for most of their rivals so far this term.
Seeking to bounce back from successive 3-2 beatings at the hands of West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion, Forest were quelled by a sturdy Everton rearguard at the weekend and succumbed to a stunning Dwight McNeil strike in a 1-0 loss at the City Ground, where boos reverberated around the stadium at the full-time whistle.
Cooper should not be in any danger of being given the boot for the moment, but the 43-year-old is feeling the heat as the winter chill arrives, with his side only six points clear of the drop zone in 15th spot having now fallen to three straight defeats in the top division.
November's surprise 2-0 beating of Champions League-chasing Aston Vila feels like an age ago for Forest, who have only taken one point from their last four Premier League fixtures on the road, failing to make the net ripple in three of those contests.
Both Fulham and Forest have displayed an affinity for 3-2 scorelines in recent weeks, and the Cottagers' trip to the City Ground coincidentally ended with Silva's side prevailing by that margin, before February's clash in the capital saw Willian and Manor Solomon guide the hosts to a routine 2-0 victory.
Team News
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No fresh injury concerns arose for Fulham during their loss to Liverpool, where Joao Palhinha returned from a domestic suspension, meaning that Silva should only be without three known absentees for the visit of Cooper's team.
Adama Traore (thigh), Issa Diop (foot) and Rodrigo Muniz (knee) are not expected to make their comebacks just yet, but all three are expected to return before the New Year rolls around; the former and latter could even be back for the weekend's derby with West Ham.
Silva's decision to drop two-goal Wolves hero Willian for Wilson was justified at the weekend, but both Tom Cairney and Reid - who combined for Fulham's third at Anfield - have put their name in the hat for starts on Wednesday.
In contrast, Forest boss Cooper was forced into an unwanted change at half time against Everton, as centre-back Willy Boly succumbed to a hip problem and should now cede his place in the shield to Felipe or Moussa Niakhate.
Murillo (knock), Chris Wood (knee) and Danilo (illness) have also emerged as fresh concerns for Wednesday's game, which Taiwo Awoniyi will definitely miss as he recuperates from his severe groin injury.
There were no truly abysmal performances from the Tricky Trees at the weekend, but the quick turnaround should benefit Nicolas Dominguez, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Neco Williams's chances of earning recalls to the starting lineup on this occasion.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Bassey, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Wilson, Pereira, Reid; Jimenez
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Williams, Felipe, Murillo, Toffolo; Mangala, Yates, Dominguez; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi
We say: Fulham 2-1 Nottingham Forest
In a game rife with spectacular strikes, Fulham could feel hard done by not to come away from Anfield with at least a share of the spoils, and Forest's attackers have a tough act to follow to replicate Liverpool's sensational efforts on Merseyside.
Cooper's men often struggle to breach opposing backlines on the road, though, and while the more superstitious Fulham fans may possess a sense of trepidation given their sequence of home results, Silva's fired-up side should have enough to return to winning ways here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
