Championship promotion hopefuls Fulham will face Derby County in a much-anticipated clash at the Pride Park Stadium on Friday night, hoping to put down a marker to other sides in the top six.
The visitors will come into the match relatively high on confidence as they are very much in the running for a return to the Premier League.
Fulham are in third position in the Championship with 56 points after 33 matches, just three points behind second-placed Leeds United.
The Cottagers’ recent form in the league competition has been positive, where the London club have secured five wins in their last 10 matches, which included just two defeats and three draws.
On the team news front, as per Squawka, Fulham will be without at least four players – Alfie Mawson, Terence Kongolo, Maxime Le Marchand and Harrison Reed – for the game against the Rams.
Fulham’s record against Derby is quite decent as well as they have secured eight wins compared to just five defeats in 20 meetings.
In the previous two meetings, the Cottagers emerged victorious on each occasion with the scores of 3-0 and 2-0.
Their previous visit to Pride Park was in 2018 when they managed to secure three points with a 2-1 victory, courtesy of goals from star striker Aleksandar Mitrović and Ryan Sessegnon.
Fulham will know that a win against Derby would draw them level with Leeds ahead of Marcelo Bielsa’s men hosting Reading on Saturday.
Bouncing straight back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking would be impressive by the Cottagers, but the London side will be keen to complete the feat by finishing in the top two – and not have to go through the gauntlet of the playoffs.
