Match Preview
Fulham versus Blackburn Rovers
Championship Match Day 34 21/22 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 5th March 2022 KO: 12:30
Referee:
David Webb (Lancashire)
Live on Sky
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Leaders Fulham play host to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon with the opportunity to strengthen their position at the top of the Championship standings.
While the Cottagers hold a commanding lead over third spot and lower, fourth-placed Blackburn can move to within 10 points of their hosts with victory in West London.
Fulham have gone four Championship matches without producing a convincing performance, their last outing seeing them overcome Cardiff City by a 1-0 scoreline in South Wales.
Nevertheless, nine points have been collected from a possible 12, creating a nine-point lead over Bournemouth and at least an 11-point advantage over the teams in the playoff spots.
Marco Silva cannot be overly pleased with the amount of narrow wins that his team have posted of late, although it could be perceived to be a show of character as they bid to earn an immediate return to the Premier League.
Aleksandar Mitrovic continued his record-breaking season with the only goal against the Bluebirds, taking his Championship tally for the campaign to 34 strikes.
On paper, Saturday's fixture is Fulham's toughest until they face Bournemouth on April 23, but Silva will drill into his team that complacency cannot become a factor if they want a comfortable run-in.
Blackburn have been disappointing since the turn of the year, posting just three times and 12 points from their 10 fixtures from January 2 onwards.
However, last week's 1-0 triumph over rivals Queens Park Rangers has restored some momentum after a five-match streak without success.
Having played three matches more than Bournemouth, Blackburn should focus their attention on remaining in the playoffs, that advantage currently standing at four points having played one more fixture than the chasing pack.
The ankle injury sustained by Ben Brereton Diaz has hampered their efforts in the final third, but Tony Mowbray would have been delighted to see Reda Khadra net his fourth strike of the campaign versus QPR.
Rovers make the trip to the capital having failed to win any of their last five away fixtures in the Championship.
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Fulham have won their last three league games against Blackburn, all without conceding a goal. They have never won four league matches in a row against Rovers in their history.
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Fulham – 7-0 winners over Blackburn earlier this season – are looking to net double figures against an opponent in a league season for the second time in 2021-22, having already scored 10 against Birmingham. The Cottagers last scored more than 10 against a team in a season during 1963-64, scoring 12 goals against Ipswich Town.
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During 2022, Fulham’s Aleksandr Mitrovic has scored 12 goals in nine appearances in the Championship, converting 26% of his efforts at goal (12/46). By comparison, Blackburn as a team have only scored three goals in 2022 so far, converting 2.6% of their shots (3/114).
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Blackburn Rovers are on a 10 Championship matches run in which they have failed to score more than 1 goal.
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Blackburn Rovers suffered a 7-0 home defeat to Fulham in this season’s reverse fixture, their heaviest ever home league defeat. If they concede three in this game, they will have shipped 10 goals against an opponent in a league season for the first time since 2011-12 vs Arsenal (10).
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Blackburn haven’t lost a single Championship game this season in which they’ve opened the scoring (one of just three sides to do so alongside Bournemouth and Luton), winning each of their last 11 such matches (P18 W15 D3 L0).