Overview
In the Premier League, Fulham have been a tough team to beat this season. They are unbeaten in their last 8 matches, having beaten Brighton and Chelsea and drawing with Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Under coach Marco Silva, Fulham have a dedicated attacking style and have scored 13 goals in their last 8 matches (an average of 1.6 goals/match).
Raul Jimenez is Fulham's brightest star with 9 goals since the beginning of the season. The Mexican striker has scored 4 goals in the last 6 matches. Rodrigo Muniz, after an unstable start, is also regaining confidence and scoring against Liverpool and Chelsea. Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi, Wilson, Smith Rowe and Robinson have also performed impressively.
Therefore, Fulham is completely confident when only having to welcome Championship team Watford in the third round of the FA Cup. Although considered the top candidate for promotion next season, coach Tom Cleverley's team is quite unstable.
They have lost three consecutive games against Cardiff, QPR and Sheffield United. Not to mention, Watford's total defeat in the English Championship since the beginning of the season is 10 games (the most among the top 15 teams) and conceded 36 goals.
In terms of head-to-head record, Watford are slightly better having won 4/5 of their most recent encounters against the Londoners. However, at this point, a stronger Fulham is likely to beat the Vicaragae Road team to advance to the next round.
Human resources situation
Fulham are facing a personnel problem as Sander Berge is doubtful to play. Meanwhile, Reiss Nelson, Kenny Tete and Harrison Reed are all definitely absent.
Marco Silva is likely to rotate his squad and consider using a back three or back four.
On the other side of the front line, goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann is out for 3 months due to an injury suffered in the loss to Sheffield. Therefore, the position in goal will belong to Jonathan Bond.
Expected lineup:
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Diop, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Pereira, Lukic, Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Muniz.
Watford: Bond, Porteous, Pollock, Sierralta, Andrews, Kayembe, Sissoko, Louza, Ngakia, Bayo, Baah.
The match between Fulham and Watford takes place at 2:45 a.m. January 10 (Vietnam time).
