Fulham head coach Marco Silva won’t be taking Chelsea lightly tomorrow – even though the Blues have won just one of their last eight matches under Graham Potter.
The Whites head into the SW6 derby ahead of their near neighbours in the table for the first time in forty years, with Potter under serious pressure despite only taking over Stamford Bridge earlier this season. Silva told his pre-match press conference this lunchtime that he was still preparing for a stern test:
“We know the type of opposition that we’re playing and we know the quality of the opposition side, even if they are not achieving the results that they wanted. We know for sure it will be a tough match for us.
Even with some injuries as well, and even without a full squad as well, they are always Chelsea. That is clear. They are a team two seasons ago that won the Champions League. This season they spent more than £300 million, talking about all these things, they have high, high quality in their squad for me, no doubts about it.”
Silva says morale at Motspur Park is high after four consecutive wins and the Portuguese coach remains adamant that his approach will not change with local bragging rights up for grabs.
“Keep the same mentality, keep the same idea. We knew we were going to play the best and most difficult competition in the world but the main thing for us was to keep building on from last season and create a mentality inside this football club and the way we play won’t change, that was the main reason for us to keep believing in ourselves and keep playing the way we are playing. Of course, after the work from our players, the behaviour, the mindset, they are always open to learn and we as a group here are ready to learn.”
The Fulham boss admitted that being without the banned Aleksandar Mitrovic is a blow but believes he has several options to pick from in attack.
The main solution is (Carlos) Vinicius, but we have other solutions as well. Bobby (Decordova-Reid) can play there, (Dan) James can play there as well and it is up to me to decide what will be the best one to start the game.”
Silva insisted it was silly to compare Vinicius, who has set to score a competitive goal for Fulham, with the Serbian but feels he can make a mark against the Blues.
“He has to be himself. Play to his strengths. We have an idea, we practise with Mitro in that position and Carlos. But they are different players, and we have to explore different things to get the best from. It’s a moment for him to pop up.”
