Match Preview
Fulham away at West Bromwich Albion
Championship Match Day 44 at The Hawthorns
Tuesday 14th July 2020 KO: 17.00
Referee:
Geoff Eltringham (County Durham)
|
Second will welcome fourth in the Championship on Tuesday night as Fulham head to West Bromwich Albion for what is a huge clash in the second tier of English football.
-
-
West Brom are currently three points behind leaders Leeds United with three games left, while Fulham occupy fourth in the table, five points behind the Baggies in the race for automatic promotion.
-
-
West Brom are in a brilliant position to earn promotion back to the Premier League, currently sitting three points clear of third-placed Brentford, meaning that their destiny is very much in their own hands.
-
-
The Baggies were held to a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon, though, and then fell three points off the summit when Leeds United struck late to beat Swansea City on Sunday.
-
-
Leeds are now in charge of the title race, but Slaven Bilic's side would certainly welcome second position as they bid to return to the Premier League for the 2020-21 campaign.
-
-
West Brom lost at Brentford towards the end of last month but have won three of their last four in the Championship, including a 2-0 success over Derby County in their last game at the Hawthorns.
-
-
Bilic's team have only lost three of their 21 Championship games on home soil this season, but Fulham's away record is strong, losing just five of their 21 matches, picking up 32 points in the process.
-
-
In all honesty, it is difficult to imagine Fulham claiming a top-two position at this stage as they sit five points behind second-placed West Brom, meaning that a lot would need to go their way in order to finish in the automatic promotion spots.
-
-
Scott Parker's side are comfortably inside the top six, though, and will, at the very least, have the chance to earn a return to the Premier League through the playoffs.
-
-
The Cottagers lost to Brentford and Leeds in their first two matches after the lockdown period but their form since the end of June has been terrific.
-
-
Indeed, the capital side have beaten Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City in their last four games to put four huge victories on the board.
-
-
Fulham and West Brom played out a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage earlier this season, while 1-1 was also the scoreline when they last met at the Hawthorns during the 2013-14 Premier League season.
-
-
-
West Brom have lost just once in their last eight home games against Fulham in league competition (W3 D4), keeping four clean sheets in the process.
-
Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight league encounters with West Brom (W3 D5), since losing 1-2 in October 2010 in the Premier League.
-
Fulham are looking to win five consecutive league games for the first time since February 2018.
-
Fulham have lost just 4 of their last 20 away league games.
-
Of the 4 away games Fulham has lost, they conceded first 4 times.
-
Despite having just returned from a threee match suspention Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is joint top goal scorer in the Championship with 24 goals in 37 games
-
West Brom have won their last two home Championship matches, as many as they won in their previous nine matches at the Hawthorns (W2 D4 L3).
-
West Brom’s Matheus Pereira has assisted 16 Championship goals this season, the best tally in a season since Matt Ritchie assisted 17 goals for Bournemouth in the 2014/15 campaign.
-
Of the 10 league games West Brom have won at home, they scored first 8 times.