The build-up to this fixture has already been dominated by memories of how Fulham scored seven at Ewood Park in November, but nobody should be expecting such smooth sailing at Craven Cottage tomorrow lunchtime. Blackburn are a far trickier proposition now, with wily old manager Tony Mowbray steering them firmly into the promotion picture after an outstanding response to that hammering at the hands of the Whites. Rovers weathered a tricky start to the new year, coupled with the loss of their talisman in Ben Brereton-Diaz, to overcome Queens Park Rangers last weekend and could move to within ten points of the leaders with a win in SW6.

Mowbray told his charges to put the disappointment at the Fulham thrashing ‘in the bin’ the day after that defeat and nobody could quite have predicted the momentum Rovers would conjure up as a result. Blackburn have taken 34 points from their next eighteen games and, mostly importantly, they have tightened up at the back. Eleven clean sheets have turned them into genuine promotion contenders with Jan Paul van Hecke, sent off for a horrid lunch on Harry Wilson, a pivotal presence in Mowbray’s defence. The Dutch defender’s battling qualities were on full display in the narrow victory over QPR – in which he won all of his tackles – but his confidence in possession has also complimented the Rovers approach.

The Blackburn boss is confident that both Ryan Nyambe and Brereton-Diaz will be back in action before too long whilst Joe Rothwell has recovered from a foot injury and will be available for selection against Fulham. Mowbray believes there is still more to come from on-loan Brighton forward Reda Khadra, despite his fifth goal of the campaign seeing off Rangers last weekend. There is certainly plenty of promising talent at Ewood Park, with Mowbray’s squad the second youngest in the Championship, and the prospect of the likes of John Buckley, Tyrhys Dolan and Brereton-Diaz himself blossoming under Mowbray’s guidance suggests that the future is bright even beyond this unexpected push for the Premier League.

Fulham’s mantra of late has been not to get too carried away. The Whites are nine points clear of Bournemouth at the top of the table, although Scott Parker’s side have two games in hand as a result of recent postponements, but arguably haven’t hit top form in any of their last four matches. As Tim Ream asserted in the aftermath of a gritty win at Cardiff, it is those sort of narrow 1-0 wins that secure promotion and the return of more resolute defending was welcome following the hiccup against Huddersfield Town at home. That defeat underlined just how unpredictable the Championship can be – and with fixtures against several of the promotion contenders to come in the near future – the next few weeks might deliver a few more twists and turns.

Fulham have been adept at not believing their own hype so far this season and concentrating on the bread of butter of winning the very next fixture. They have demonstrated the ability to grind out results without playing the sort of fluent football that was blowing teams away earlier in the campaign – witness the recent victories over Peterborough, Cardiff and Hull City, where steel replaced style as the Londoners edged their way to precious points. Marco Silva will want more of the same and his major dilemma on Saturday will be whether to revert back to the tried and tested formula as Antonee Robinson and Neeskens Kebano, who have linked up impressively down the left flank this season, are likely to both be available once again. It remains to be seen whether Tom Cairney, who has missed Fulham’s last two matches through illness, will be restored to the engine room against his old club.

Fulham’s main route to goals has been the irrepressible Aleksandar Mitrovic, who will have more records in his sights after moving clear of Ivan Toney’s Championship record haul over the past week or so. The Serbian striker, who scooped the EFL player of the year accolade at the London Football Awards last night, will have his eye on overhauling Bedford Jezzard’s tallies of 35 goals in 1952/53 and 38 goals in 1953/54. It isn’t just Mitrovic’s goal threat that has been so impressive this season – the big number nine’s all-round play has been exemplary, making his exclusion under Scott Parker last term all the more mystifying. He has spoken this week of feeling so loved at Fulham; and the feeling is most certainly mutual.

MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Rodak; Williams, A. Robinson, Adarabioyo, Ream; Reed, Seri; Wilson, Kebano, Carvalho, Mitrovic. Subs: Gazzaniga, Hector, Tete, Chalobah, Cairney, Decordova-Reid, Muniz.