Fulham host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Friday night, hoping to continue their impressive run of form with a home win.
Fulham are currently sixth in the league table and come into the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the back of three consecutive victories across all competitions.
Marco Silva’s men are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions. And they will fancy their chances of picking up all three points at home against an inconsistent Wolves side.
💬 On our position in the table: "The players, they deserve what we have achieved so far. We want to keep improving. Everybody knows it is difficult to be in this position."#FULWOL pic.twitter.com/FilKh6rOiu
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) February 23, 2023
Meanwhile, the visitors are currently 15th in the league table, just three points clear of the drop zone. Wolves will have to continue picking up points if they want to preserve their status as a Premier League club next season. A poor result here could see them drop back into the bottom three once again.
Wolves have picked up just two wins from their last five league matches, and they will have to improve immensely in order to grind out an away win here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News and Tactics
Fulham
Marco Silva will be without the services of Neeskens Kebano and Tom Cairney because of injuries.Meanwhile, star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic missed the game against Brighton with an injury. But he could return here against Wolves.
Silva is likely to field his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Bernd Leno in goal. Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson will line up as the full-backs here. The duo will look to add creativity and width to the attack. In the heart of the defence, Issa Diop will partner with Tim Ream.
Harrison Reed and Joao Palhinha will start in the midfield pivot, and the two players will look to provide defensive cover to the central defenders and break up the opposition play. Harry Wilson and Willian are expected to line up as the wingers here.
The wide-attacking duo will hope to add creativity and goals from the wide areas. Finally, Andreas Pereira will be the attacking midfielder behind Mitrovic, who is set to lead the line. The Brazilian international will look to pull the strings behind the central striker
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Wilson, Pereira, Willian; Mitrovic
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Taking on Fulham on Friday.
⚪️🐺 pic.twitter.com/BXePvzJ0Ud
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 21, 2023
Julen Lopetegui will be without the services of Chiquinho, Boubacar Traore, Sasa Kalajdzic, and Hwang Hee-chan because of injuries. Mario Lemina is set to return to the side after serving his suspension against Bournemouth.
Lopetegui is set to field his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Jose Sa in goal. Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri will start as the full-backs. Meanwhile, Craig Dawson will partner Max Kilman at the heart of the defence.
Ruben Neves will look to add defensive cover to the side in the midfield double pivot. Meanwhile, Lemina will add creativity and drive in the middle of the park.
Pablo Sarabia and Daniel Podence are likely to be deployed as the wide midfielders here. The duo will look to add creativity from the flanks. Joao Moutinho will start as the central attacking midfielder here, and he will be expected to drop deep and help control the tempo of the game. Finally, Matheus Cunha will lead the line for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Lemina, Neves; Sarabia, Moutinho, Podence; Cunha
Key Stats
- Wolverhampton Wanderers have kept a clean sheet in their last four matches against Fulham in all competitions.
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Fulham have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches in the Premier League.
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Wolves are undefeated in 14 of their last 15 matches against Fulham in all competitions.
- Wolves have scored a joint-league-low 17 goals so far, and their top scorers are Daniel Podence and Ruben Neves with five each.
- After the World Cup break, only Manchester United (seven) have won more games than Fulham (six).
Player to Watch
Aleksandar Mitrovic
The Serbian striker has been in exceptional form this season, scoring 11 goals in the league so far. The 28-year-old missed the game against Brighton owing to an injury and will be hoping to make an explosive return to action. Wolves have been quite vulnerable at the back this season. And Mitrovic has the quality to punish them.
Prediction
Fulham 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Fulham are undoubtedly the better team here, and they will be full of confidence and momentum heading into this game. They are unbeaten in their last five outings across all competitions and they should be able to grind out an important win here.
Marco Silva’s side will be boosted by the return of talismanic striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. And the Londoners have the quality to come out on top in the end. Wolves will look to put up a fight here but their porous defence could be their undoing once again. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Silva and his charges.
Wolves 2 Fulham 1