If there was ever any thought within the Fulham squad that they would be able to cruise to the Championship title after securing promotion with the win over Preston North End last week, a cursory glance at the fixture list would have decisively dispelled it. Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth was always going to carry some extra needle given the manner of Scott Parker’s departure last summer – and the drama of Dominic Solanke’s 98-minute equaliser from the penalty spot was a reminder of the sheer unpredictability of English football’s second tier.
Now, Marco Silva’s side face the division’s form side. The transformation at Nottingham Forest since Steve Cooper, who was on Fulham’s managerial shortlist in pre-season, arrived at the City Ground has been nothing short of remarkable. The astute coach, an intelligent nurturer of young talent both at Liverpool and in the England youth set-up before moving into senior management with Swansea, has lifted Forest from a relegation battle to firmly in the hunt for automatic promotion. Had Graham Scott not pointed to the spot at the Vitality Stadium, the gap between tonight’s opponents and Bournemouth would be a mere four points.
Given that they trailed the Cherries by a margin of seventeen points in November, it is a swing amongst as sensational as Forest’s overall rise from the foot of the Championship table – they had managed just one win in eight when Cooper took over from interim boss Steven Reid following Chris Hughton’s departure. Forest will be motivated by the pain of narrowly missing out on the play-offs on the final day two years ago and probably only need a point to make sure of a spot in the top six. Silva was adamant yesterday that Forest will prove one of Fulham’s toughest tests of the whole season – and he used the meeting on the banks of the Trent back in October to prove his point. That might sound perverse given that the Whites won 4-0 – but it was an utterly misleading scoreline, with the hosts going behind to an early own goal, shooting themselves in the foot with defensive errors early in the second period, and posing plenty of problems of their own before that.
Forest will head to Craven Cottage full of confidence. They have won seven of their last eight league games, scoring twenty goals and letting in only three. Sam Surridge, whose close range finish relegated Peterborough at the weekend, has found the net twice in two games and the Berkshire-born forward appears to be finding form at the right time with both Lewis Grabban and Keinan Davis struggling with injuries. Cooper can also rely on the outstanding Brennan Johnson, who made the winner at Posh on Saturday, and scooped the Championship’s young player of the year award ahead of Fabio Carvalho the following day.
The talented 20 year-old has appeared in every league game for Forest during this campaign and starred in their riveting run to the FA Cup quarter finals. The improvement since his eye-catching loan spell with Lincoln City last term, where he scored thirteen goals and made fourteen more as the Imps reached the League One play-off final, has been stellar. The Welsh international has scored sixteen goals and added nine assists as the latest product of Gary Brazil’s glittering work at the head of the Forest academy. He might be the most prominent of their creative talents, but he won’t be the only threat to Fulham’s defence this evening.
Cooper’s confident side is packed with real pedigree. Joe Worrall has enjoyed an outstanding season at the heart of the defence, whilst former Fulham full back Djed Spence has really flourished at the City Ground. The reliable Ryan Yates is an unsung presence in the heart of midfield, whilst Manchester United loanee James Garner is a persistent provider of perceptive passes. Forest will likely decide the destiny of the second automatic promotion place, as they travel to Bournemouth before the end of the season, as well as the make-up of the play-off places, with a home game against Swansea to come at the weekend.
Fulham have been at pains to point out that their season is far from over. Silva, still smarting from dropping points in Boscombe, reminded the media yesterday that his players ‘are not on holiday’ and is desperate to lift the Championship title. They will have both play better than at Bournemouth and make more sensible decisions than Harry Wilson’s ill-fated decision to dive in on Adam Smith at the death in order to fell Forest. The Fulham boss, likely to be hit with a touchline ban following his sending off at the weekend, may make changes given the tight turnaround and it will be interesting to see whether Neco Williams – absent against the Cherries – returns to the starting line-up, especially with Kenny Tete having spoken about wanting to win the first silverware of his career.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Rodak; N. Williams, Bryan, Adarabioyo, Ream; Reed, Cairney; Wilson, Kebano, Carvalho; Mitrovic. Subs (not used): Gazzaniga, Tete, Hector, Chalobah, Seri, Decordova-Reid, Muniz.
