Brazilian forward Lucas Piazon has described tomorrow’s trip to Middlesbrough as ‘a massive game’ as Fulham look to close the gap between them and the Championship play-off places.
Middlesbrough, now managed by former Stoke City and West Brom boss Tony Pulis, are just two points above Slavisa Jokanovic’s side in the Championship and Piazon believes this weekend’s fixture could be an ideal opportunity for the Whites to show that they are capable of mounting another challenge for promotion to the top flight. Speaking to FulhamFCTV at Craven Cottage, the on-loan forward was in confident mood ahead of the journey to the North East:
It is a massive game. It is very close, they are just two points ahead of us. We are not so far from the play-off spots, so a win there would be massive for us. After that, we have a home game so we could make it two wins in a row and, if we do that, we will be up there fighting for that spot.
They are strong – they were just in the Premier League last season, so they have good players and playing away from home is always hard, so it’s not going to be easy but we will have our chances.
Piazon feels he would be ready to start again a week after coming through his first ninety minutes after recovering from his horrific leg break against Leeds in August. The popular 23 year-old felt no ill effects from his outing against Southampton in the FA Cup and is raring to go once again:
I played ninety minutes, my second ninety minutes of the season and my first since the injury, so it was important to see how I feel. I felt good, I think my fitness levels were good, so I’m good to go again. My leg feels stronger every day. I feel more confident, I feel better every day so I don’t know if I am 100 per cent [fit], but I feel like I am very close to being 100% now.