Fulham v Nottingham Forest Preview: Role Reversal

Hello! We're here for another Preview, and this is the first team I didn't Preview in the reverse fixture- it was Mid-September, it looked like Forest already had one foot in the Premier League; and we were still under the villainous reign of a tyrant who were looking like we could be going down for a second successive season. Now, while we don't look like getting promoted- the managerial pressure is most definitely on Stuart Pearce despite the Forest result at the Weekend and who knows a loss to us could be the end for Stuart Pearce at Forest as it was for "him" in the Reverse Fixture. 

Since my Reading Review we've gotten another one of our talented youngsters to sign a new deal- this time Sean Kavanagh. Kavanagh is a player who suffered somewhat under "him", but since Kit's come in- in his albeit limited opportunities he's looked very good playing in a midfield role and depending on other players Kavanagh could turn into a key player for us next season. 

With games coming thick and fast, and an FA Cup game at the weekend we need to prioritise one fixture over the other in my opinion- and as you might be able to guess if you've read my blogs since the Wolves Replay I'd be looking to the game at the Weekend as the more important of the two- as such I think we should pick the team accordingly for tomorrows game. 

Naturally Bettinelli should continue in goal, of course in the reverse fixture we had the treat of Gabor Kiraly conceding 5 Goals from 5 Shots on Target- and thankfully our exposure to the Tracksuited one has been limited since. 

The Defence is definitely an area of contention for this game, for multiple reasons. Despite the positive result make no mistake we were completely annihilated in wide areas against Reading on Saturday. McCleary was a constant danger and if Reading had more of a cutting edge- say Britt Assombalonga they would have definitely scored more than one. Now we're coming up against a Forest team who's wing play is equally as good if not better with players like Antonio, so we'll need to pick the defence and midfield with that in mind. I wouldn't make any changes the Back 4, purely because the Back 5 is somewhat settled and I don't see any massive reason to disrupt that unless its for injury or fatigue. 

The Midfield is an interesting debate for this match, firstly we should rest Parker for this match in my opinion he's played 3 games in quick succession including an added 15 minutes against Wolves this time last week and we need him fully fit for Sunderland on Saturday. However the debate isn't as complicated as it could possibly be in my opinion. Christensen should be held off team selection wise until the Weekend, and with Hyndman still at the Youth Tournament the Three Midfielders are pretty straightforward being Tunnicliffe, Fofana and Kacaniklic. Tunnicliffe and Fofana will be key for this game, we'll need them to be at their absolute defensive best in order to deal with the attacking threat Forest pose. Then with the diamond there is of course a needed top for the diamond, and unless something changes between now and tomorrow night it should be Bryan Ruiz. When Bryan came on against Reading he added an extra dimension to the attack- and as long as he's still on our books we should play him, especially when he's the best option we have the role he fulfills. 

I touched on it briefly in my Reading Review, I've finally gotten to the point where I would drop Hugo. Hugo is very much a confidence player, and when he's low on confidence he's one of the worst strikers we've ever seen in a Fulham shirt and he's currently on one of those low points- characterised by him hitting the post from roughly a yard against Reading. Especially with the way Woodrow is playing at the minute, with his two goals against Wolves and the sublime assist he done for the Winner on Saturday. Of course, McCormack will occupy the other position- and it'll be interesting to see how a Woodrow-McCormack dynamic performs in preparation for Saturday's game where we'll need to take our very limited chances if we are to get to the 5th Round. 

Team for Nottingham Forest

                       Bettinelli

Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis

       Fofana, Tunnicliffe, Kacaniklic

                         Ruiz

         Woodrow       McCormack

This Forest game will be somewhat full circle, it was "his" last game- and arguably one of our best performances of the season despite the result so it'll be interesting to see how we've progressed under Kit- although Forest are definitely a different prospect now compared to what they were in September. 

Thanks for Reading as always, this game will be an interesting game without a doubt- but as I've already said the game on Saturday should definitely be our priority.