MX23RW : Thursday, April 25 12:57:55| >> :60:717:717:
[monks data]
Fulham logo
Championship
Nov 8, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Huddersfield logo

3-1

FT(HT: 1-0)
Lynch (75')

Preview: Fulham vs. Huddersfield Town

Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday's Championship clash between Fulham and Huddersfield at Craven Cottage.

Try as they might, Fulham simply cannot seem to drag themselves away from the relegation zone in the Championship, and failure to beat Huddersfield Town at Craven Cottage on Saturday could see them end the weekend back in the bottom three.

The Cottagers made a dreadful start to the campaign following their relegation from the Premier League last season, failing to win any of their opening eight matches and picking up a solitary point in that time.

However, they have only lost one of the next eight and come into this weekend's match on a five-game unbeaten streak in the league - their best record since February 2013.

They remain just a point clear of the relegation zone, however, with Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers below them beginning to find a bit of form under their new managers.

Fulham's own new boss, Kit Symons, has been nominated for the October Manager of the Month award, but his side have not made the most convincing start to November.

A 3-3 draw with fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic was a decent result considering they required a late equaliser, but to only pick up a point at home to rock-bottom 10-man Blackpool on Wednesday would have been highly disappointing, despite coming back from two goals down.

Bryan Ruiz scored three goals in those two games, and he is likely to be a key figure again if Fulham are to extend their unbeaten run at home in the league to five matches.

Big-money summer signing Ross McCormack was suspended for the midweek match, but he is available once again this weekend and should return to the side in place of Moussa Dembele.

The hosts will come up against a Huddersfield side whose momentum was finally stunted on Tuesday by a 3-2 defeat at the hands of high-flying Derby County.

That result ended a surprise seven-match unbeaten streak for the Terriers, who are looking increasingly capable of pushing towards the top half under Chris Powell, who has also been nominated for Manager of the Month.

While Powell has got his side picking up regular points at the John Smith's Stadium, away from home there is a noticeable lack of consistency that he will want to address.

In Nahki Wells and Grant Holt, though, he has a strike partnership that can cause problems wherever they play, and those two will lead the line once again in the continued absence of James Vaughan.

Indeed, despite defeat last time out, Powell could opt for an unchanged starting lineup having pushed Derby all the way in midweek.

Recent form

Fulham: DDLWDW

Huddersfield: LWDDWD

Possible starting lineups

Fulham: Bettinelli; Hoogland, Burn, Bodurov, Stafylidis; Ruiz, Parker, Roberts, Christensen; Rodallega, McCormack

Huddersfield: Smithies; Smith, Hudson, Lynch, Robinson; Scannell, Butterfield, Coady, Bunn; Wells, Holt

Sports Mole says: 2-2


ID:186866: cacheID:186866:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5435:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Fulham caretaker manager Kit Symons looks on during the Capital One Cup Third Round match between Fulham and Doncaster Rovers at Craven Cottage on September 23, 2014
Read Next:
Symons up for Manager of the Month award
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!