Both Marco Silva and Tom Cairney have demanded a response following Fulham’s dire derby display on Monday night and you’d imagine that winless Sheffield United, currently bringing up the rear of the Premier League table and without a win all season, might just be licking their lips at the prospect of this afternoon’s trip to Craven Cottage. The Whites have looked about as far removed from the side that surprised everyone last season with the loss of Aleksandar Mitrovic turning them in a slightly more effective version of the side that struggled during Scott Parker’s soporific final season in charge.

The statistics seem to bear that out – although, even without the hulking Serbian, you’d expect Silva’s side to beat the nine league goals at the Craven Cottage by May. Precisely where they will come from, though, is a very good question. It is not too much of exaggeration to say that Fulham could have carried on playing against Chelsea throughout the we’ve just been through and may not have found the net. Raul jimenez has come in for plenty of brickbats but the Mexican has barely had a chance in his last couple of outings which makes it difficult to break his barren goalscoring run, which now stretches to thirty games. There’s been a groundswell of support for starting Carlos Vincius but the Brazilian’s all-round game isn’t up to the level required to start as a lone striker in the Premier League and Rodrigo Muniz still looks too raw. The folly of falling to replace Mitrovic following his move to Saudi Arabia is, unfortunately, all too evident.

The lack of creativity in a Fulham side that was far too easily overrun by our out-of-form neighbours should lead to changes this afternoon. The Whites perked up once Tom Cairney was introduced from the bench and the Scot has already shown that he can be very effective in a side set up to play to his strengths. Fulham haven’t held or utilised the ball effectively enough this season, so playing the club’s most proficient passer would be a plus, especially with his penchant for prising open miserly defences. Paul Heckingbottom’s side will probably opt to to operate on the counter-attack, which makes Cairney’s eye for a pass all the more important. Who the captain comes in for would be up for debate, but I’d consider playing him in the deep-lying central midfield role alongside Joao Palhinha so he can dictate the pace of Fulham’s attacks as well as being available to take the ball from the centre backs.

But mere changes in personnel won’t be enough to get the Whites back on the right track. Silva’s side were far too passive for a derby on Monday night – and the contest was effectively over after they conceded two goals in a minute. Fulham’s football this term has been devoid of the intensity and thrust that put opponents on the back foot when they returned to the top tier. Think of the assertive and expansive play that rocked Liverpool in that outstanding display on the opening weekend of the season or even how easily the hosts cut through Leicester City in the closing weeks of the campaign. None of the three key figures behind Jimenez have cut the mustard: Willian still looks off the pace, Andreas Pereira seems a shadow of the busy number ten who became an automatic selection early in his Fulham career, and Harry Wilson has been too peripheral for a player of his undoubted talent. The work ethic of Bobby Decordova-Reid alone should earn the Jamaican another chance, whilst Alex Iwobi has surely done enough to get his first league start. The fluidity of Fulham’s forward line was one of the reasons why the Whites were so successful last year – and shaking things up a bit, even though Silva has been loyal to his key players in the past, is surely merited.

The Blades have had a brutal start to their return to the top flight. Paul Heckingbottom’s plans will have been thrown into disarray by the depature of Iliman Ndiaye, scorer of their stunning winner in SW6 two seasons ago, and it is no surprise that they have lacked the killer instinct up top in the aftermath of the Senegalese international’s move to Marseilles. United, who could certainly do with Benie Traore finding the form that saw him score twleve times in fourteen league outings for Hacken earlier this year, will be cheered by the fact that record signing Rhian Brewster made his return at West Ham last week after eleven infuriating months on the sidelines with a groin injury. The Premier League is as unforgiving as it comes, but Heckingbottom’s side have been far more competitive than their results suggests – cruelly having three points snatched away from them in stoppage time at Spurs last month.

Questions over Heckingbottom’s future seem exceptionally harsh since he put the Blades back on track for promotion after Slavisa Jokanovic’s abrupt departure from south Yorkshire admist plenty of boardroom uncertainty. He should be lauded for his sense of adventure, too, having picked Gus Hamer, James McAtee and Cameron Archer in his recent line-ups, even if it hasn’t yet had the desired effect. That’s far more refreshing than parking the bus and hoping for the best. United have also been dealing with a lengthy injury list, to which John Egan’s name has to be added after the centre half limped off at the London Stadium. Heckingbottom is already without George Baldock, Will Osula, Rhys Norrington-Davies, John Fleck and Max Lowe whilst Tom Davies, introduced from the bench in the Blades’ last three fixtures, is doubtful.

Both Silva and Heckingbottom agree that it is far too early for fixtures to be deemed must-wins – even if these does feel like a bit of a six-pointer already, merely for the boost in confidence it would deliver to the victor.

MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Catagne, Ballo-Toure, Diop, Ream; Palhinha, Cairney; Decordova-Reid, Iwobi, Pereira; Jimenez. Subs: Rodak, Bassey, de Fougerolles, Reed, Lukic, Wilson, Willian, Vinicius, Muniz.