Match Preview
Fulham vrs Nottingham Forest
Premiership Match Day 23 22/23 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 11th February 2023 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Andy Madley (West Yorkshire)
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Fulham face in form Nottingham Forest at Craven Cottage on Saturday andalthough no team has picked up more Premier League points than Steve Cooper's side in 2023 Fulham remain eight points above Forest in the table.
Fresh from booking their place in the last 16 of the FA Cup with a 3-2 victory over Sunderland in midweek, Fulham will now focus on cementing their spot in the top half of the Premier League table.
After gaining promotion alongside Nottingham Forest last year, the Cottagers have exceeded all expectations this season, winning nine of their 22 league games to keep them above Chelsea and Liverpool in the standings.
That said, Marco Silva will be eager to end a three-match winless run in the Premier League, with defeats to Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur preceding a goalless draw against London rivals Chelsea at the Cottage.
It is also worth noting that Fulham have failed to score in each of their last three league outings, although Silva's men did manage to chalk up a four-game winning run directly after the World Cup break.
Fulham have kept just two clean sheets in 11 Premier League games at the Cottage this term, while only bottom club Southampton have conceded more home goals than Fulham's 16, so Forest will fancy their chances of getting something from Saturday's clash.
The Tricky Trees extended their unbeaten streak in the Premier League to five matches with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Leeds United last time out, leading to the sacking of Whites manager Jesse Marsch.
Brennan Johnson scored the decisive goal after 14 minutes, meaning that the 21-year-old has now bagged three goals and two assists across his previous four league appearances.
Having made a poor start to the season – winning two of their opening 14 Premier League games – Nottingham Forest have lost just one of their past eight league outings to open up a six-point gap between them and the bottom three.
It is worth pointing out, however, that only Bournemouth have claimed fewer points on their travels than Forest this season, with Cooper's side winning one of their 10 away games.
On top of that, only Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored fewer goals than Forest's 17, while no team has netted fewer away goals than Forest's three, so the Reds will be desperate to increase their output on the road.
Forest lost the reverse fixture 3-2 back in September, with Fulham scoring three goals in six second-half minutes, but it feels as though Cooper's men have improved drastically since then.
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Fulham have won six of their past eight league games against Nottingham Forest, though both defeats in that run have come in home matches.
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The five most recent league meetings were won by the away team.
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Fulham's 3-2 away victory in this season's reverse fixture was the first Premier League game between these clubs.
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The Cottagers host Nottingham Forest in the top flight for the first time since a 2-0 win in November 1967.
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Fulham could go four successive top-flight matches without scoring for only the second time, following a run of five in December 1961.
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However, Fulham's tally of 32 points is the most they have ever had after 22 games of a Premier League season.
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Their only defeat in 15 league fixtures this season against teams currently outside the top five in the table came at West Ham in October (W9, D5).
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Aleksandar Mitrovic has equalled his best return of 11 Premier League goals in a season, which he previously achieved in 2018-19.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic is Fulham's top scorer in the Premier League this season with 11 goals, though he hasn't scored in his last three appearances. The last Fulham player to net more in a single top-flight campaign was Dimitar Berbatov (15) in 2012-13, which was the last season the Cottagers ended a Premier League campaign without being relegated.
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Steve Cooper's side have earned a joint league-high 11 points in 2023, level with Manchester United.
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Forest's current five-game unbeaten run is their longest in the top flight since a 12-match streak in 1995.
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They kept a clean sheet in all six of their league wins so far in 2022-23.
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Nottingham Forest have only scored three goals in their 10 Premier League away fixtures this season, winning just once. The fewest away goals in a Premier League campaign is seven by Norwich City in 2019-20.
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Keylor Navas is vying to become the first goalkeeper to keep successive clean sheets in his first two league starts for Forest since Paul Smith, who did so in his first three in August 2006.
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