Seeking to strengthen their grip on a top-four finish in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest travel to Craven Cottage to face fellow European hopefuls Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
The Cottagers will be looking to complete their second league double over the Tricky Trees in three seasons after winning the reverse fixture 1-0 at the City Ground in September last year.
Match preview
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Fulham have enjoyed the month of February thus far, as they have celebrated two 2-1 away victories against Newcastle United in the Premier League and Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup, beating the latter last weekend.
A brace from Rodrigo Muniz helped a much-changed Cottagers outfit edge past their League One counterparts and set up a fifth-round tie with Manchester United at Old Trafford on March 1. Before then, Marco Silva's side will shift their attention to three consecutive Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Fulham currently sit ninth in the top-flight table and are still harbouring realistic aspirations of securing European football for next season, as they are only four points behind the top seven, five points behind the top five and seven points adrift of the top four with 14 games still remaining.
The Cottagers will ideally need to improve their home form if they wish to remain in the European mix, as they have only won one of their last seven league matches at Craven Cottage, including frustrating draws with relegation-threatened Southampton (0-0) and Ipswich Town (2-2).
There is reason for Fulham to be confident of success on Saturday, though, as they have won four of their last five Premier League meetings with Nottingham Forest, including their last two at home by an aggregate score of 7-0.
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Aside from their heavy 5-0 defeat at Bournemouth at the end of last month, Nottingham Forest have been in fantastic form over the last 10 weeks, winning eight of their last 10 Premier League matches as well as two FA Cup ties, scoring two or more goals on nine of those occasions.
The Tricky Trees followed up their memorable 7-0 top-flight demolition of Brighton & Hove Albion with a 4-2 penalty-shootout victory over League One outfit Exeter City in the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend, following a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes.
Before taking on Ipswich Town in the fifth round, Nuno Espirito Santo's side will prepare for three successive Premier League fixtures against Fulham, Newcastle and Arsenal, with Forest hoping to consolidate their place in the top four and potentially extend their six-point advantage over both Man City and Newcastle in fifth and sixth respectively.
Forest boast one of the best defences in the Premier League this season, as they have conceded the third-fewest goals (27) and have kept the joint-most clean sheets (10) along with Liverpool, six more than they managed in the whole of last season. Five of Forest's 10 clean sheets have been kept in their last eight fixtures.
The Tricky Trees may find it difficult to keep out Fulham on Saturday, though, as they have lost nine of their last 12 league meetings with the Cottagers and have conceded in 13 of their last 14 matches over the last nine years.
Team News
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Fulham winger Reiss Nelson has suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh problem and remains on the sidelines with Kenny Tete (knee) and Harry Wilson (fractured foot).
Raul Jimenez is Fulham's top scorer this season with 11 goals in all competitions, including eight on home soil, and he will be pushing to return up front, although Muniz has given Silva something to think about after netting a brace against Wigan last time out.
Willian re-joined the Cottagers on a free transfer earlier this month and is in contention to feature in some capacity this weekend, although both Adama Traore and Alex Iwobi are set to get the nod on the flanks, with Emile Smith Rowe returning in a central attacking role.
As for Nottingham Forest, backup goalkeeper Carlos Miguel (hamstring) and striker Taiwo Awoniyi (concussion/broken nose) were both forced off with injuries in midweek, and while the former has been ruled out, the latter is doubtful.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has returned to training and could be involved against Fulham after missing the last three games with a groin problem, while there is also hope that defender Murillo will have shaken off a dead leg in time to play on Saturday.
Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Neco Williams and possibly Morato are all poised to return in defence, and Elliot Anderson is set to be recalled in midfield, while Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga could both link up in attack with top scorer Chris Wood, who scored a hat-trick against Brighton last time out to take his impressive goal tally for the season to 17 in the Premier League.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Morato, Milenkovic, Murillo; Aina, Anderson, Danilo, Williams; Gibbs-White, Elanga; Wood
We say: Fulham 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Fulham have struggled to grind out victories on home soil in recent weeks, but their impressive record against Nottingham Forest will give them hope of collecting three valuable points this weekend.
However, the Tricky Trees boast the second-best away record in the division and it is difficult to back against the likes of Wood, Elanga and Gibbs-White making their mark in the final third. With that in mind, a share of spoils could be on the cards this time around.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
