Hello! Second Blog of the day, and this one is a preview blog for tomorrows game. I'm not sure what to expect from tomorrows game if I'm totally honest, Although we haven't lost since Middlesborough we've been far from convincing in recent games such as Blackpool and Huddersfield- however we've still gotten points from those games and managed to keep our points tally rising.
Firstly, From Kits Press Conference earlier today we've been told that Bettinelli is fit *and breath*. Not to say Kiraly is completely useless, however against any Top 6 team- especially against a team on the from Brentford are we need our first choice everything available to us. With Amorebieta, Kavanagh and Hoogland still injured we won't have a "complete" team but we will have enough of a team to at the very least be extremely competitive tomorrow night.
As referred to earlier, Bettinelli is arguably one of our key players. Not just because of his undoubted ability as a Keeper- but also the partnership he's formed with Bodurov and Burn. I spoke on numerous occasions earlier in the year about the need for a "Back 3" partnership, and what we've gotten in Bettinelli, Bodurov and Burn is a very solid foundation. Any disruption to this partnership will adversely affect the team, and the balance of the team in my opinion. The Back 3 partnership has also worked so well because these three trust each other, and know each others games well enough that this foundation of the team is capable (in my opinion) of propelling us up the table at a relatively quick pace.
The Full-Back situation is fairly straight forward for the foreseeable future. With Amorebieta, Kavanagh and Hoogland still out injured we're only really left with Stafylidis and Zverotic, although Voser is an option he isn't a very viable one- and with Zverotic not being completely useless against Huddersfield I'd persist with him. Stafylidis has come into his own in recent weeks, I thought in terms of defensive performance Huddersfield was Stafylidis' best game in a Fulham shirt- and against very good wingers in Jota and Odubajo both of these two need to be on top of their game.
Once again our midfield situation is pretty straightforward for tomorrows game. Parker and LVC both are (in my opinion) firmly embedded in the spine of the team now, and shouldn't be dropped unless absolutely necessary- and with us having "just" 3 games in 3 weeks it most definitely isn't necessary on this front. The third midfield option is a bit more of a debate to be had, George Williams has been on form in recent weeks undeniably- however against a midfield such as Brentfords I think we should consider a more defensive minded midfielder as opposed to essentially a winger. As such I think this should be the time Hyndman gets a game under Kit- as from my memory the only time he's played under Kit previously was Birmingham and Rotherham roughly a month ago. Hyndman showed he was more than capable of being a part of our midfield being one of our bright spots when we were awful. With Brentford, I've seen a renewed debate over Chris David after his performance in the Carling Cup earlier on in the season. However I think people are underestimating Bryans influence in the team. He (perhaps frustratingly so) remains calm, and that does rub off on other players- and was something we were lacking earlier in the season when we had no real influences in the team. Ruiz has also started contributing from a defensive standpoint, he's cleared multiple corners a game, and has even started tracking back (to an extent)- as such I think he should remain in the team until he inevitably leaves in January.
The striker situation is as easy as it ever can be in my opinion. Granted I haven't followed Wigan attentively over the years, however I can't remember off the top of my head a year where Hugo has played better. Not just because of his undoubted goal tally, but his work ethic is also top notch- and you only have to look at his link up play with both McCormack and LVC respectively for the first two goals against Huddersfield to attest to that. McCormack is without a doubt the first name on the team sheet at this point in his very early Fulham career, you only have to look at how we struggled to break down Blackpool when we were sans McCormack- and then look at the extra "something" we had against Huddersfield.
Team for Brentford;
Bettinelli
Zverotic Bodurov Burn Stafylidis
LVC Parker Hyndman
Ruiz
McCormack Rodallega
Tomorrows game will be a true test of how far we've come under Kit. We're not only going up against a Top 6 team, but an in form Top 6 team as opposed to when we've played Norwich and Charlton as they've been in slight dips when we've played them. I spoke in my "How we Compare to the Top 6" blog about how crucial these games are when it comes to any hope of getting into the Top 6 come May- and if we repeat the result we got in August we'll have taken a massive step into getting into the Top 6.
Thanks for reading, I'm not sure if I'll post the Review for this game late Friday- or some time on Saturday, so stay tuned for that one. As always any feedback is appreciated, and lets hope we have the bragging rights come Saturday.
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