Fulham vs. Nottingham Forest

Fulham hosts Nottingham Forest on Monday in the last match of the weekend. Kickoff is at 3pm EST on USA Network.

This will be Fulham's first league match without the Nigerian trio and if it goes poorly we'll all be worried about Fulham's prospects over the next month. Lukic was pulled not just because of his yellow in the League Cup but also out of precaution because of an issue with his groin. He could be available for this match.

I'd like to see Fulham go with the starting midfield I also suggested against Newcastle: Smith-Rowe, King, Berge. But again, I don't think that is likely. I'd also like to see Kusi-Asare get more playing time. Also not likely. So I don't think that Silva will be making the best possible choices for this team to win and to keep the existing squad fit over the coming weeks. Sorry I'm still whining about this, but I'm pretty disappointed in his decision making this season.

Fulham does have a good track record against Forest so even if I don't see the lineup I'd like, I'm still hopeful for a win.

 

I wish I had paid attention to the schedule for this match when I was planning and submitting my holiday leave request, because now I'm sitting here at the office trying to figure out if I should (could?) step out early or just record the match and use it as an excuse to take a break from the in-laws for a couple hours.

A win here would go a long way for Fulham. They're currently 7 points clear of the drop zone but sitting near the bottom of a clump of teams all within a few points of each other. A loss would see Forest jump Fulham in the table, so that's the worst-case scenario.

I think we're all questioning Silva to some extent - whether it's his team/substitute choices or his rigidity in his tactics - but this next month should force his hand given the player loss to AFCON. There will possibly be additional changes if... IF the team picks up some new talent in the transfer window.