Fulham
Fulham midfielder Sean Davis is fit again after suffering a broken nose
and is expected to be in Jean Tigana's squad for the Barclaycard Premiership
clash with relegation-threatened Blackburn at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
But Lee Clark faces another fortnight on the sidelines with the Achilles
problem that has sidelined him since Boxing Day.
Tigana must decide whether to reinstate regular left-back Rufus Brevett
in place of Jon Harley, who impressed in last Saturday's scoreless draw
with Aston Villa in the absence of the suspended first-choice defender.
Luis Boa Morte will undergo a fitness test on Friday to determine whether
he will be able to line up against Blackburn at Craven Cottage tomorrow.
The striker has been out with an ankle injury and hasn't featured since
the 1-1 draw with Sunderland last month, but he will be put through a rigorous
test on Friday afternoon at the Motspur Park training ground. If he comes
through that test then the Portuguese international is almost certain to
start against relegation-threatened Rovers.
Fulham (from):
Edwin van der Sar(G),
Steve Finnan(D), Andy Melville(D), Alain Goma(D), Rufus Brevett(D),
Sylvain Legwinski(M), Zak Knight(D/M), John Collins(M), Steed Malbranque(A/M),
Bazza Hayles(A), Steve Marlet(A),
Maik Taylor(G), Jon Harley(D), Sean Davis(M/D), Boa Morte (M/A), Louis Saha(A).
Blackburn
Blackburn's David Dunn returns after three weeks out with a calf injury
to boost Blackburn's relegation battle ahead of the game against Fulham
at Craven Cottage.
Dunn's comeback will help offset the loss of skipper Garry Flitcroft, who
begins his three-match ban for his sending off against Sheffield Wednesday.
Martin Taylor and Nils-Eric Johansson are set to make way for experienced
duo Craig Short and Henning Berg at the back.
Souness said: "There is a temptation to bring the experienced
lads back because we need to start winning games."
There is no room in Rovers' 18-man squad for Damien Johnson, who has been
told by the club his contract will not be renewed in the summer.
.
Blackburn (from):
Brad Friedel(G), Alan Kelly(G),
John Curtis(D), Lucas Neill(D), Craig Short(D), Henning Berg(D), Nils Johansson(D),
Martin Taylor(D), Stig Inge Bjornebye(D),
Kerimoglou Tugay(M), David Dunn(M), Alan Mahon (M/A), Damien Duff(M/A),
Keith Gillespie(M/A), Craig Hignett(M/A),
Matt Jansen(A), Andrew Cole(A), Mark Hughes(A).
Topmen
Despite Rovers dangerous position in the Premiership, just goal difference
from the relegation zone, they have potted 9 more goals then we have. Unfortunately
their defence has conceded 11 more goals than our own top class defence
and that is what has put them in trouble.
Their hard working captain Garry Flitcroft, top 3 passer, tackler and top
fouler for Rovers will not be on show on Saturday as he is suspended. However
Rovers have another hardworker, Kerimoglou Tugay, who is a top 3 passer,
foul winner and top tackler. Tugay however snitched on his team mates last
week saying that they had just laughed after their last defeat so unless
his mates are saints he is likely to be frozen out.
Steve Finnan goes from strength to strength with 1001 passes to his name
and still rated by Opta at the best defender in the Premiership. Steve Marlet
has started to clock up the shots on target and at the current rate will
be Fulham's top shooter by the end of the month. Bazza Hayles is starting
to behave himself better and the number of fouls he is credited with, although
high, has stopped increasing as quickly as before.
| League
stats |
Fulham |
Blackburn |
| Goal
Scorers |
Bazza Hayles (6+3)
Steed Malbranque(5+2)
Louis Saha (5+1)
Sylvain Legwinski(3+2) |
Matt Jansen(6+5)
David Dunn(5+1)
Craig Hignett(4+4)
Andy Cole(1+3) |
| Shots
on Target |
Louis
Saha (19)
Bazza Hayles (15)
Sylvain Legwinski(13)
Steed Malbranque(12)
Steve Marlet (12) |
Matt
Jansen(22)
Andy Cole(21)
David Dunn(13)
|
| Successful
passes |
Steve
Finnan (1001)
John Collins (936)
Rufus Brevett(910)
Steed Malbranque(711) |
Stig
Inge Bjornebye(700)
Garry Flitcroft(692)
Kerimoglou Tugay(692) |
| Successful
Tackles |
John Collins (79)
Sylvain Legwinski(57)
Steve Finnan (54)
Luis Boa Morte (47) |
Kerimoglou Tugay(54)
Lucas Neill(52)
Garry Flitcroft(48)
Henning Berg(40) |
| Fouls
won |
Louis Saha (69)
Steed Malbranque(51)
Luis Boa Morte (45)
Bazza Hayles (44)
|
Damien Duff(63)
Matt Jansen(36)
Kerimoglou Tugay(30)
|
| Fouls
conceded |
Barry
Hayles (61)
Luis Boa Morte (37)
Sylvain Legwinski(37)
|
Garry
Flitcroft(58)
Lucas Neill(33)
Stig Inge Bjornebye(30)
|
Yellow
Cards
(all comp's) |
Barry Hayles (7)
Luis Boa Morte (5)
Rufus Brevett(5)
Sean Davis (5)
Sylvain Legwinski(4) |
Kerimoglou Tugay(8)
Lucas Neill(6)
Garry Flitcroft(5)
David Dunn(4)
Keith Gillespie(4)
|
| Red
Cards |
Luis Boa Morte (1) |
Craig Short(2) |
| stats
from opta.co.uk |
|