The seventh-placed team will play hosts to the tenth-placed team in the Championship on Friday night as Fulham welcome Queens Park Rangers in the West London derby.
Fulham have mustered 26 points from their 16 league matches this season. QPR, on the other hand, are three spots behind Fulham on the League table; however, they are on 24 points. With two points separating the two teams, we can look ahead to a mouthwatering encounter at Craven Cottage.
In 16 League matches this season, the cottagers have managed seven wins, five draws, and four defeats. Thus, collecting 26 points to stay in seventh place, just three points behind fourth-placed Swansea City ahead of the clash in West London.
Scott Parker’s men are actually only five points behind Preston North End, who are currently second-place, and a win against Queens Park Rangers would catapult them to the top six of the Championship table. A win would also give them confidence as they go into another home game with Derby County next week on Tuesday.
It won’t be an easy task for Fulham, as they will be without the services of top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic through suspension. The 25-year-old has found the back of the net 12 times in 16 Championship appearances this season. Nonetheless, he was booked for the fifth time the season against Birmingham City prior to the international break.
Early in the season, Fulham went six straight matches unbeaten in the League between August 30 and October 5. Now they have lost two of their last five against Stoke City and Hull City. Parker’s side even suffered a horrendous 3-0 defeat to Hull City in their last fixture at Craven Cottage.
Fulham has just lost one match in all of their five Championship clashes with QPR since September 2015. The last time both clubs met was at Craven Cottage in March 2018.
Ever since they were relegated from the Premier League in the 2014-15 season, QPR has not found it easy in the English Championship. In the last four seasons, they have finished 12th, 18th, 16th, and 19th places on the table.
Fulham are priced at 1.84 to win QPR, while QPR are given 4.04 to defeat Fulham. A likely draw result is backed at 3.77.
Written by: Collins Nwokolo
