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Fulham will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Championship this evening when they head to the Select Car Leasing Arena to face Reading.
Since securing a 4-1 victory over Barnsley in November, the Cottagers have only managed to accumulate four points in the second-tier from their last five league fixtures.
As a result of this dip in form, Fulham have been overtaken by Blackburn Rovers in the league standings.
Set to face a Reading side who will be determined to deliver a response to their shock FA Cup defeat to Kidderminster Harriers in tonight’s fixture, the Cottagers know that they will need to be at their best in order to secure a positive result on their travels.
After opting to rotate his squad for the club’s clash with Bristol City last weekend, it will be intriguing to see whether Marco Silva makes some significant alterations to his team today.
Having utilised the 4-2-3-1 formation on numerous occasions this season, Fulham are likely to deploy this particular system tonight.
Goalkeeper Marek Rodak is expected to return to the club’s starting eleven after being rested for the club’s cup clash with the Robins.
Tim Ream will also be recalled by Silva and will be determined to produce a positive performance alongside Tosin Adarabioyo in the heart of defence.
Antonee Robinson and Kenny Tete will feature in the full-back roles whilst Harrison Reed could be partnered in central-midfield by Tom Cairney who has made 10 appearances for Fulham in all competitions this season.
Fabio Carvalho is set to line up in a more advanced central role whilst Neeskens Kebano and Harry Wilson are both expected to regain their places in Fulham’s side.
Wilson produced an impressive cameo display against the Robins as he scored the winning goal for his side in this particular clash.
The Wales international has now provided an impressive total of 14 direct goal contributions for Fulham this season and will be brimming with confidence heading into this evening’s fixture.
Having already scored 22 goals at this level during the current campaign, Aleksandar Mitrovic will fancy his chances of adding to this tally when he leads the line for Fulham as Reading have only managed to keep three clean-sheets at this level.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak, Robinson, Ream, Adarabioyo, Tete, Cairney, Reed, Kebano, Carvalho, Wilson, Mitrovic.
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Reading will be desperate to bounce back from their humiliating FA Cup loss against sixth-tier outfit Kidderminster Harriers at the weekend, as they take on automatic promotion candidates Fulham this evening.
Returning to the Select Car Leasing Stadium for this clash, the home advantage could prove to be either a blessing or a curse for the Royals who will need their supporters’ backing tonight, though the atmosphere surrounding the club’s fanbase may make this return a dreaded one.
Fielding a much-changed side in Worcestershire at the weekend, the likes of Andy Carroll and Scott Dann will be fresh as they go into what will be a tough game against Marco Silva’s side, despite this evening’s visitors failing to win any of their last five league matches.
The Royals haven’t fared much better though, going winless in their previous four competitive matches and are currently hovering dangerously above the drop zone with just three points separating them and 22nd-placed Peterborough United at this stage.
With Derby County seemingly on the rise too, Veljko Paunovic’s men will be desperate to win all three points to alleviate pressure off themselves and their manager who could be in real danger of losing his job unless results improve.
In goal, Rafael Cabral made costly errors at the weekend and didn’t do himself any favours in terms of regaining the number one goalkeeping jersey, so Luke Southwood comes in to start despite his own error against Derby last Monday.
Baba Rahman and Andy Yiadom’s inclusions at the African Cup of Nations presents a real problem for the Royals’ boss, who may decide to switch to a back three to reduce the defensive responsibilities youngster Tyrell Ashcroft has to take on.
If he’s cleared to play, following a vision problem against the Rams, he is likely to start again with another wide option in Junior Hoilett dropping slightly deeper on the left-hand side to take up a wing-back role.
Scott Dann, Tom Holmes and Josh Laurent all start at centre-back with the latter coming on at half-time at Kidderminster to take his place in the backline – and this could potentially help to tighten up a defence that can’t buy a clean sheet at the moment.
In midfield, Tom Dele-Bashiru is probably lucky to remain in the starting lineup after failing to impose himself on the game at the weekend – but one man that isn’t so lucky is Danny Drinkwater who was particularly poor and should probably remain on the bench in favour of Andy Rinomhota who made his long-awaited return last Saturday.
His inclusion depends on whether he’s fit enough to play a full 90 minutes though.
John Swift also returns – but needs to do more after going quiet in recent games. He could be crucial to the home side’s cause tonight and after a reasonably bright first-half display against Derby, he’s certainly one to look out for.
The three in midfield leaves Paunovic able to play two up top – and in a potential last roll of the dice – he may place his faith in Jahmari Clarke to be an effective attacking partner to ex-England international Andy Carroll.
Having two physical players up top may cause the Cottagers real problems, so this is definitely an option for the Berkshire club to think about as they remain desperate to get three points on the board.
This selection may be unorthodox – but that’s what may be needed to save his job – clearly needing to change things up after seeing his 4-2-3-1 system fail at the weekend.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Southwood, Dann, Holmes, Laurent, Hoilett, Dele-Bashiru, Swift, Rinomhota, Ashcroft, Carroll, Clarke.
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