Fulham vs. Everton

With just three matches to go in the season, Fulham hosts Everton on Saturday at Craven Cottage. Kickoff will be at 10am EDT on Peacock.

As with the other Premier League seasons under Silva, Fulham is kind of sputtering toward the finish. Fulham hasn't put together three wins in a row all season. Doing that now would really help Fulham with their quest for a European spot, but I do not expect that to happen. Fulham can't seem to close out seasons strong and the injury list isn't helping either.

Castagne now joins Muniz and probably Nelson as players who will miss the rest of the season. Castagne was playing injured for weeks trying to hold down the right side until Tete could return. Now Tete returns the favor. Reed is out and most important of all, Lukic will be out too. Pereira was a bit of an unexpected scratch last week, but hopefully he'll be back this week.

So, Fulham is a bit banged up, they haven't performed well against weaker teams, Silva's game management has been questionable in recent weeks, and we've come to expect late season disappointments. All that adds up to a match I am not looking forward to on Saturday when really, I should be stoked for an exciting finish with Fulham competing against Brentford, Brighton, and Bournemouth for a Conference League spot.

 

The end of the season is certainly a weird time when you're sitting middle of the table. I enjoy tuning into all Fulham matches, but the last few often feel a bit like friendlies. I'm not that emotionally invested and simply want to watch the players that I support play a few more times. I'm sure the players feel it too. Even Marco Silva probably feels it. The only thing I feel strongly about now is surpassing 53 points. Come on Fulham!

 

Very disappointed. Not surprised.

It appears this is the ceiling for Fulham with the current management and ownership. Further progress into something beyond mid-table appears to be out of reach. What is so frustrating is that Fulham is in almost every match and they have lost a ridiculous number of points from a winning position. They are a good team, they just can't make a transition to a great team. After years in the wilderness I should be happy with how they are now, but right now I'm just bummed.

One thing that might help in the future is a set-piece coach. Fulham is wasteful with their set piece chances and this was now the second recent match where someone ran in from outsize the "zone" being defended to get a goal.