Our Focus turns to Saturday’s trip to Teeside as Fulham take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. Parker’s side will be looking to implement some consistency after victory over Luton with back-to-back wins whilst Jonathan Woodgate’s side are struggling for confidence and without a win in their last 5 games. Two clubs whose starts have already suggested they will have different expectations come May, but as we all know anyone can beat anyone in the Championship.
Head-To-Head
- Fulham 25 | Draws 11 | Boro 29
- Our record at the Riverside is poor, in 11 attempts we have won just once, drawn 4 and lost the other 6.
- That victory came in our last outing, Jan 2018 thanks to an injury-time penalty from Oliver Norwood
- In the new millennium, it’s been very even. In 23 meetings, both clubs have won 9 each with 5 draws suggesting there’s very little between the clubs in recent history.
Boro in 2019/20
- Position: 21st
- League Form: DLLDL
- Average Possession: 49.7%
- Top Scorers: Britt Assombalonga (4), Ashley Fletcher (2), Patrick McNair (2).
- Woodgate’s side have only won 2 games so far this season, both were 1-0 home wins.
- Those two wins provided 2 of their 3 clean sheets this season, the other was a 0-0 away to Huddersfield.
- Fulham have conceded 2 goals in their last 3 matches. Boro, however, haven’t scored more than 1 goal in any home game in the league so far. Somethings got to give.
Players in Common
Mark Schwarzer
Fulham: 220 appearances (2008-2013)
Boro: 446 appearances (1997-2008)
Calum Chambers, Cyrus Christie, Mark Crossley, Ryan Fredericks, Jonathan Greening, James Husband, Tomas Kalas, Andy Lonergan, Frank Queudrue, Mark Schwarzer & Mickael Tavares.
Score Prediction Panel
Ivan Berry (Matchday announcer)
Boro 1-2 Fulham (Mitro to score again, Bobby Reid to get off the mark with the other).
Jamie Reid (Fulham TV commentator)
Boro 1-2 Fulham
Paul Moody
Boro 2-2 Fulham
Alex’s View (@AHillier21 )
After a disappointing Saturday, we managed to bounce back with a home win against a Luton side that in truth, were not able to match our level for the vast majority of the game. The introduction of Bobby Reid into the midfield and pushing him closer to Mitro worked well for long periods and definitely appears to be the solution when playing weaker teams at home.
The long trip up to Boro this Saturday will be a different proposition altogether and will be another test of the team’s credentials after some disappointing performances on the road so far this season. Boro have undergone a big shift in their style of play having transitioned from Tony Pulis to the more modern coaching methods of Jonathan Woodgate. While their results have been poor and they currently sit 21st in the league, they haven’t been beaten by heavy margins and proved a difficult proposition for table-topping West Brom at home last weekend.
Ultimately, if we want to get promoted this season our away form has to improve and both the team and the manager have to be more consistent in their approach. Saturday’s game is a perfect opportunity to do just that, hopefully in a more comfortable way than our last trip to the Riverside.
