This weekend we continue our FA Cup campaign against fellow Premier League side, Burnley. With a big match against Brighton just around the corner, should we play our strongest eleven or give some youngsters a go?
If push comes to shove, this cup tie is not as important as Premier League Survival. Our top flight status is the main objective for Parker but it does pose an important question. Do we make few changes to our side and keep our momentum or make wide-scale changes and potentially disrupt it? Burnley come into this game having just beaten Liverpool and will be asking themselves a similar question. Personally, I think we need to rotate as getting an injury could really hurt our survival chances, not to mention fatigue as the fixture congestion really is ramping up of late. This sounds bad but I don’t really care if we win or lose in the cup this season, especially with them being behind closed doors. At this stage of the competition, I just see it as an opportunity to build match fitness for some of the reserve players.
With that in mind, I would make mass changes to the side who started against United on Wednesday night. Starting with Rodak in goal, a back four of Odoi, Hector, Ream and Bryan. Stefan Johansen is reportedly in negotiations with QPR over a loan move, so it would be nice to give him a farewell appearance. Alongside StefJo, Mario Lemina who hasn’t started since the draw away to Newcastle and might need this game to get back up to match sharpness. The very impressive Carvalho to make his senior debut as a 10, with Sylvester Jasper on the left, Neeskens Kebano on the right and Aleksandar Mitrovic up front.
PREDICTION: FULHAM 0-2 BURNLEY
HEAD TO HEAD
ALL COMPETITIONS
- GAMES PLAYED – 96
- FULHAM WINS – 31
- DRAWS – 19
- QPR WINS – 46
- GOALS SCORED – 127
- GOALS CONCEDED – 160
HOME RECORD
- GAMES PLAYED – 47
- FULHAM WINS – 26
- DRAWS – 10
- BURNLEY WINS – 11
- GOALS SCORED – 89
- GOALS CONCEDED – 59
CUP COMPETITIONS
- GAMES PLAYED – 10
- FULHAM WINS – 1
- DRAWS – 3
- BURNLEY WINS – 6
- GOALS SCORED – 5
- GOALS CONCEDED – 15
BIGGEST WINS AT CRAVEN COTTAGE
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FULHAM 0-4 BURNLEY (1926/27)
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FULHAM 4-0 BURNLEY (1992/93, 1998/99)
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FULHAM 2-5 BURNLEY (1965/66)
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FULHAM 4-1 BURNLEY (1950/51, 1977/78)
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FULHAM 3-0 BURNLEY (1908/09, 1910/11, 2009/10)
LAST 5 GAMES
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BURNLEY 2-1 FULHAM
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FULHAM 4-2 BURNLEY
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FULHAM 2-3 BURNLEY
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BURNLEY 3-1 FULHAM
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FULHAM 3-0 BURNLEY
FORM
- FULHAM – LLDWD
- BURNLEY – WLLWW
LAST TIME OUT
BURNLEY 2-1 FULHAM (2018/19)
The last time we played Burnley we lost 2-1 at Turf Moor in one of the most frustrating matches we have ever played. Schurrle put us in front after two minutes with an incredible goal and it looked like we were going to do the double over Burnley. But no, this is Fulham at Turf Moor remember, winning seems impossible! A deflected goal by Hendrick and an own goal by Odoi meant that we went back to London having conceded twice from one shot on target.
PLAYERS IN COMMON
Chris Baird, Kevin Ball, Andy Cole, Mike Conroy, Mark Crossley, Jon Harley, Jimmy Hogan, Alexander Kacaniklic, Gabor Kiraly, Kevin McDonald, Peter Mellor, Gerry Peyton.
FA CUP 4TH ROUND DRAW
