Fulham and Nottingham Forest will look to bounce back to winning ways when they clash at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
Fulham and Nottingham Forest will square off in Premier League action on Wednesday in a battle between two clubs in the bottom half of the English top-flight table. The hosts currently sit in 14th place in the league table with 15 points after 14 games, while Forest are one place behind their midweek opponent’s with 13 points.
Fulham suffered a gut-wrenching, high-scoring defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. The Cottagers came close to ending Liverpool’s unbeaten home record, twice coming from behind to level the game at 2-2 at the break before Bobby De Cordova-Reid thought he bagged a winner in the 80th minute.
But Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold scored in the 87th and 88th minutes, respectively, to turn the game on its head as the Reds ran out 4-3 victors. Marco Silva’s men will be looking to pick themselves up with a win at home to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
The visitors, on the other hand, are on a three-game losing run in the English top flight, falling to a 1-0 defeat to Everton at the City Ground last time out. Steve Cooper’s men will also be looking over their shoulders in the battle at the bottom, and their away form is pretty uninspiring.
Heading into the game against Fulham, Nottingham Forest have picked up only four of their 13 Premier League points on the road so far, winning away to Chelsea 1-0 in September and drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace in October.
Last time around, when the two teams squared up against each other, the Cottagers came out on top. Marco Silva’s men won 2-0 on the night. And The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News and Tactics
Fulham
Fulham have no fresh injury concerns from their loss to Liverpool, which means that head coach Marco Silva should only be without three absentees for the visit of Nottingham Forest. Adama Traore (thigh), Issa Diop (foot), and Rodrigo Muniz (knee) will all sit out for the hosts. But the trio is expected to return before the New Year kicks in.
Marco Silva will once again keep with the 4-2-3-1 formation. German shot-stopper Bernd Leno will start in between the sticks for Fulham against Nottingham Forest. Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson will be the full-backs, while Issa Diop and Tim Ream will be the centre-backs.
Robinson, in particular, was immense all game at the weekend, especially impressive when faced with a world-class winger in Mohamed Salah. He was also key to their final third exploits too, providing an assist for Wilson and nearly getting a goal for himself in the second half. So, the USMNT international will look to build on his impressive display here.
Tom Cairney and Joao Palhinha will be the two pivots in midfield, with the latter returning from suspension to put on a strong performance in the middle of the park against Liverpool last time out.
Harry Wilson scored Fulham’s first in the 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend and is likely to keep his place on the right flank, while Bobby Reid and Andreas Pereira will help out struggling front-man Raul Jimenez.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Bassey, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Wilson, Pereira, Reid; Jimenez
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest will make the trip to the capital to take on Fulham without the services of talismanic striker Taiwo Awoniyi, while Murillo (knock), Chris Wood (knee), and Danilo (illness) have also emerged as fresh concerns for Wednesday’s game and will be assessed late before the kick-off.
Willy Boly picked up a slight muscular injury in the defeat to Everton but is likely to be deemed fit to feature here. Should he fail to prove his fitness, he will cede his place in the defensive rearguard to either Felipe or Moussa Niakhate.
One positive amid their poor run has been the form of speedster Anthony Elanga, with the former Manchester United attacker finding the back of the net twice in the visitors’ last three Premier League appearances. He could be joined in their lineup by Callum Hudson-Odoi if Cooper decides to shake things up.
Awoniyi is a long-term absentee after undergoing groin surgery. So, creator-in-chief Morgan Gibbs-White could be tasked with leading the line for Nottingham Forest against Fulham ahead of Divock Origi, who has been underwhelming in his limited minutes since signing for the club.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Vlachodimos; Williams, Felipe, Murillo, Toffolo; Mangala, Yates, Dominguez; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest have lost their last three Premier League matches.
- Fulham are on a poor run of just one win in six Premier League matches.
- The Tricky Trees have lost five of their seven away games in the Premier League this season.
- The Cottagers’ last three games in all competitions have been high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored.
Player to Watch
Bobby De Cordova-Reid
Goals have been hard to come by for Fulham since they lost Aleksandar Mitrovic in the summer. Amid the challenges of finding a regular goalscorer, one player who could emerge as a glimmer of hope is Bobby De Cordova-Reid. The versatile forward, who has been with the club since 2019, could be the short-term fix to Fulham’s goalscoring problems, at least until the January transfer window.
De Cordova-Reid has so far scored three Premier League goals this season. His versatility is a hallmark of his game. Being not confined to a single position makes him a valuable attacking asset for the Cottagers, as they look to exploit opponents’ weaknesses and create goalscoring opportunities. Against a depleted Nottingham Forest defence, the Fulham attacker could pose a serious offensive threat in the midweek.
Prediction
Fulham 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Fulham could feel hard done by after not coming away from Anfield with at least a share of the spoils. But Marco Silva’s troops came out of the game with their pride intact. That level of attacking performance will surely see results picked up at home in the coming week as they look to build on their most recent game in front of their supporters, which they won 3-2 against Wolves last Monday.
Nottingham Forest are without a win in their last four away assignments, failing to score in three of those. With that in mind, The Hard Tackle predicts the Cottagers will use their home advantage to claim the points here.