WATCH AS WE PREVIEW FULHAM V WOLVES
TEAM NEWS
Wolves are still without the services of Chiquinho, Sasa Kalajdzic, and Hwang Hee-Chan because of injuries. Mario Lemina is set to return to the side after serving his suspension against Bournemouth. Boubacar Traore is back in training but this one is thought to be too soon to see him return.
Fulham will be without the services of Neeskens Kebano and Tom Cairney because of injuries. Meanwhile, star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic missed the game against Brighton with an injury and we are unsure whether he will feature in this one.
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JULEN LOPETEGUI
Asked about his side’s current form, he replied: “We are busy trying to improve the team in all the facets. We scored three against Liverpool, two against Southampton, maybe we can do better and we are going to try to work hard and improve all our team.”
On his side’s mentality: “It’s important to be balanced, the mind and mentality is very important. Sometimes you start winning, sometimes you are losing. You have to have a good mentality. It’s very important to be strong in your mind and overcome bad moments.”
On the challenge of stopping Aleksandar Mitrovic, Lopetegui said: “We are not thinking about one player, they played in Brighton without Mitrovic and they won. They have very good players, they are going to play with 11 good players. We prepare for the match in the same way and not thinking about one player.”
When asked about the challenge of facing in-form Fulham, he added: “We are going to play against one of the teams who are in the best form now. They are playing very well. We respect all the teams. They are in a good position in the table but we go there with the intention to make a good match. This is our aim.”
A FEW FACTS
Head-to-head
- Fulham’s only victory in 13 league matches against Wolves was 2-0 at Craven Cottage in the Championship five years to the day before this latest fixture (D3, L9).
- The Cottagers have gone four Premier League games without a goal versus Wolves since Ryan Sessegnon scored in a 1-1 home draw on Boxing Day 2018.
- A Wolves triumph would equal their club record of seven Premier League wins against a particular opponent. They’ve beaten both Southampton and West Ham seven times.
Fulham
- A win would give Fulham 41 points, the highest tally by a promoted team after 25 fixtures of a 38-match Premier League season.
- Only the two Manchester clubs have earned more points than Fulham’s 19 since the Premier League resumed after the World Cup.
- Sixth-placed Fulham’s solitary defeat in 17 league games this season against teams currently below them in the table came at West Ham in October (W11, D5).
- They can equal the club top-flight record of four consecutive clean sheets, set in March 1963 and matched in December 2001.
- Manor Solomon can become only the second Israeli player to score in three successive Premier League appearances, emulating Ronnie Rosenthal for Liverpool in November 1992.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Wolves can win consecutive away league matches for the first time since a run of four from December 2021 to February 2022.
- Their only point from five Premier League visits to London this season came in a 1-1 draw at Brentford in October.
- Wolves are unbeaten in their past seven top-flight away games against promoted opposition since a 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United in July 2020.
- Craig Dawson is one short of 250 Premier League appearances.
- Mario Lemina scored one goal in 28 Premier League matches for Fulham during a loan spell from Southampton in 2020-21.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett. Fourth official: Darren England. VAR: Michael Salisbury. Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes.
MATCH INFO
Friday night under the lights at Craven Cottage, an 8pm kick off and will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK.