Match Preview
Fulham v Reading
Championship Match Day 08 21/22 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 18th September 2021 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Stephen Martin (Staffordshire)
|
Olly Allen
Championship leaders Fulham welcome Reading to Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.
The Cottagers have taken 16 points from their first seven games of the season, while the Royals have seven points and sit 18th.
After losing 1-0 at Blackpool last weekend, Fulham bounced back with an emphatic 4-1 win over Birmingham City on Wednesday night.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice, while Denis Odoi and Harry Wilson also got on the scoresheet as Marco Silva's side reinforced their promotion credentials at St. Andrew's.
It is unsurprising that Fulham have both the best attack (17 goals scored) and the joint-best defence (five goals conceded) in the Championship, and they are unlikely to stray too far from the top two this season.
The Cottagers remain unbeaten at home in 2021-22, having taken seven points from nine games at Craven Cottage, conceding just once.
That is bad news for Reading, who have lost all three of their away games this season and have not won any of their last nine matches on the road since beating Rotherham United at the end of February.
On Tuesday night, the Royals won for the first time in five games as they beat fellow strugglers Peterborough United 3-1 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
John Swift continued his impressive early season form with a superb free-kick and Watford loanee Tom Dele-Bashiru netted his first two goals for the club.