Fulham Head Coach Scott Parker was full of praise for Cardiff City boss Neil Harris, and anticipates a difficult encounter on Friday.
The Bluebirds have been soaring of late, with Tuesday’s defeat by Blackburn Rovers their only post-lockdown loss.
It is form that has propelled them into a Play-Off position with just four fixtures to go.
“It’s a tough game,” Parker admitted in his pre-match press conference. “They’re a team that was Premier League not so long ago.
“We understand their qualities, they’ve got some very good players, some experience in their team, players who have been in and around the Premier League. We understand their qualities and what they’re going to bring.
“Neil’s done a very good job there. They’ve got a bit of momentum, I know they had a bad result midweek, but they’ve picked up some good results against good teams.
“They beat Leeds in their first game back after lockdown, so we’re going into this game fully focused as it will be a tough evening for us.”
Fulham were without Tom Cairney for the Nottingham Forest victory, and the Captain will again sit out on Friday night.
“Tom’s still struggling at the moment, he won’t be available for tomorrow,” Parker revealed. “It’s day to day really with Tom, the problem is that the games are literally only two or three days [apart]. The turnaround is pretty quick.
“I don’t think it’s a big one, it’s not one which we’re too concerned about, but the dynamics of the division and the games schedule means you’re missing games with just a week’s injury, or a 10 day injury you can be missing three or four games.
“We’ll manage it every day and see where we are.”