Saturday’s short sojourn to Shepherd’s Bush is a curious encounter. Marco Silva might be the only member of the footballing fraternity who hasn’t already anointed Fulham as Premier League-in-waiting and you can understand why after two well below-par performances before the international break saw the league leaders draw at Barnsley and be beaten by West Brom. At times, the Whites have looked irresistible this season but the grind of the Championship has been even more gruelling since the new year with a stack of extra fixtures following the festive coronavirus postponements.

With two weeks off for the international break, there might be a bit of freshness about Fulham this weekend – and they will need to recover the pace and intensity that characterised their crisp football earlier in the campaign. Derby games still matter even in what is such a global game these days and Silva’s players should be wanting to set the record straight after a disappointing few weeks, as they did in eventually putting four past Rangers at Craven Cottage in October. The head coach’s team selection will set the tone: there is no earthly reason for selecting Antonee Robinson, after he played three sets of ninety minutes for the United States (the last of which in the early hours of Thursday morning), especially with a midweek trip to Middlesbrough to come. Joe Bryan has waited patiently for an opportunity at left back, whilst Neeskens Kebano returned in the dying embers of DR Congo’s World Cup qualifying campaign so should be fit to feature further forward on the left.

Kebano will have happy memories of the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, having settled a tight FA Cup tie in extra time on Fulham’s last visit. The winger has been rejuvenated this season under Silva, but will need to demonstrate further improve in order to impress the management, who must already be considering which members of this squad might be able to step up to the top flight. Fulham’s proud record at QPR – the Whites haven’t been beaten in their last six visits since Adel Taarabt totally terrorised Steve Sidwell back in 2012 – will be at stake, with Mark Warburton’s men desperate for a win to prolong their own promotion hopes.

Rangers have had a steady season after smart summer recruitment but have failed to grasp any of their opportunities to cement themselves in the top six. Warburton, now QPR’s longest serving manager since Ian Holloway, has come in for criticism after four defeats in their last five. The R’s are now eighth after surrendering three leads in that run and five of their last eight fixtures are away from home.

The sparkle of Rangers’ strong start, typified by the sight of former Fulham target Rob Dickie striding forward from the back and spanking in long range strikes, might have faded but a rare home sell-out should create plenty of fervour. Losing Chris Willock for the remainder of the season is a significant blow, but Warburton can still count on the mercurial talents of Ilias Chair and the ageless enthusiasm of Albert Adomah. The boss will need a performance after the opprobrium that reigned down following an abject surrender to relegation-threatened Peterborough and what better way to deliver it than against their local rivals. Lyndon Dykes could return to lead the line after featuring for Scotland in midweek – and he has already scored against Fulham this season.

Seeing the Whites so close to the finishing line is a strange experience. It would be only natural for some complacency to creep amongst the playing group and there seems to be a tried and tested method to stopping Silva’s side from playing their pretty, patient passing game. The head coach has been clear in both public and private that nothing has been won yet: he will want to lay down another marker of his team’s credentials in W12 tomorrow.

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