Fulham head to Molineux this evening looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Whites were definitely second best in a London derby that was billed as a test of their European credentials, with Marco Silva unhappy with their reaction to going behind, the performance of referee Michael Jones and how his side conceded a sloppy second goal. The Portuguese head coach has usually got a reaction from his charges when he has demanded one this term, but Wolves – fresh from a fine win at Bournemouth over the weekend – will be anything but a pushover.

Silva probably still has nightmares about Fulham’s capitulation from a goal up at Craven Cottage in November. That win gave Gary O’Neill some extra time to drag Wanderers out of trouble at the foot of the trouble, but a home defeat to relegation rivals Ipswich Town saw Fosun make a change and bring in Vitor Pereira. The former Porto, Olympiacos and Flamengo manager had an immediate impact with a win at Leicester in his first game in charge and a 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Boxing Day. Four defeats in January sparked a few worries but beating Aston Villa felt like a big statement even before Saturday’s success at Dean Court.

Pereira’s side should come into this evening’s game with confidence having built a five-point buffer between themselves and the drop zone after picking up two wins from their last three league fixtures. The Wolves boss will probably have to do without forward Goncalo Guedes once more due to a knee problem, whilst former Nice centre back Emmanuel Agbadou, the right-sided Rodrigo Gomes and striker Hwang Hee-chan are all definitely unavailable as a result of long-term injuries. Fulham will have to keep the mercurial Matheus Cunha, outstanding in SW6, quiet whether he starts up front or roams from a wide left role – as he has of late – even if Silva was at points to point out that Wanderers have other threats beyond their thirteen-goal top scorer, who gave the club a real boost by putting pen to paper on a contract extension just as transfer speculation was heating up last month.

Lanky front man Jørgen Strand Larsen has proven a hit since being loaned in from Celta Vigo in July. The Norwegian international has seven goals in all competitions this term, whilst left wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, outstanding in an more advanced role as Wolves might light of a striker crisis to beat Silva’s side at Molineux last March. The Algerian international is one of the Premier League’s most reliable left wing-back’s and his managed four goals and five assists so far this season. Fulham could come up against Andre, who they were linked with so long before he swapped Brazil for the old gold, and former loanee Mario Lemina in the middle of the park – so Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic will have to put Saturday’s meek submission to Will Hughes and Ebere Eze out of their mind.

Wolves have an outstanding record against the Whites at Molineux – having been unbeaten in fifteen home league encounters since the Whites won 4-0 in April 1985 thanks to a Tony Sealy hat-trick and Ray Houghton’s final Fulham goal. A repeat performance would be welcome, but it won’t be easy. Fulham were too fragile in the face of a streetwise Palace side at the weekend, not mustering a single shot on target and being beaten far too easily for Silva’s taste. The manager will make late calls on the fitness of Emile Smith Rowe and Tom Cairney after they limped out of Saturday’s humbling home defeat, but may decide to freshen up his starting eleven as he seeks to match Wolves’ intensity from the outset.

Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez will be desperate to rekindle their partnership that sparkled so superbly over three years at Molineux, but both struggled against a well-drilled Palace defence. Traore, so devastating against highly-flying Nottingham Forest a week earlier, was superbly shackled by Tyreek Mitchell and will be desperate to prove a point against his former employers. Jimenez worked hard but was denied much service, with Alex Iwobi, who has scored six Premier League goals against these opponents, looking a little leggy for the first time this season. Andreas Pereira had another frustrating cameo from the bench, with his ambitious shot and failure to close down Jean-Phillipe Mateta leading to Palace’s clinching second goal, whilst the Whites do have alternative options on the wings despite Harry Wilson’s untimely injury in the form of Ryan Sessegnon and Willian, who topped up his match fitness with a late cameo from the bench when the game was lost.

Silva has largely stayed true to the tried and tested figures in a season that has brought almost unprecedented success on the road. Fulham have won five top-flight away games this season just two wins short of their top-tier record which came when Silva spearheaded a splendid return to the top flight in 2022-23 after cantering to the Championship title in his first year in SW6. They might stitch together three away Premier League away wins for the first time since 2008 when Roy Hodgson’s heroes pulled off the Great Escape with incredible victories at Reading, Manchester City and Portsmouth.

MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, A. Robinson, Diop, Bassey; Berge, Lukic; Traore, R. Sessegnon, Iwobi; Jimenez. Subs: Benda, Andersen, Cuenca, Reed, King, Pereira, Willian, Muniz, Vinicius.