Fulham host Liverpool on Wednesday night with confidence substantially higher after snatching a 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have been in devastating form this season, and Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen believes trying to shut down the Reds strikers will be one of the biggest challenges of the season.
He said: “How do you stop them? They’ve had an incredible season, the pace and the penetration, the variety and the unpredictability in the way they can all score goals.
“So it has to be all hands on deck for us to make sure that we defend in a good, compact manner, that we keep communicating, don’t leave gaps for them to get through and play through.
“But the defensive performance from Sunday was definitely a massive improvement, and we can build on that.”
Meulensteen still holds veteran Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in high esteem and added: “In my opinion he is a top player, definitely. Brendan is looking at the players available and where he will best slot in as well.
“If Lucas would be fit, then probably Lucas would play a bit deeper and Gerrard a bit freer.
“But he probably thinks Gerrard is the best to play the deeper role now, it suits him, he’s got the range of passing to do it, so he’s still a very important player for Liverpool.”
