Fulham will welcome Preston North End to Craven Cottage in the Championship on Tuesday knowing that a victory would see them secure a return to the Premier League for the 2022-23 campaign.
The Cottagers missed the chance to seal promotion on Friday, as they lost 2-1 at relegation-threatened Derby County, while 13th-placed Preston will enter this contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Millwall.
Match preview
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Fulham appeared to be heading towards securing three points against Derby on Friday, with Fabio Carvalho making the breakthrough in the 20th minute of the contest, but the Rams turned the match around in the second period, meaning that the Cottagers are still waiting for their promotion to be finalised.
Marco Silva's side would guarantee a top-two finish with a victory over Preston on Tuesday, and they are also in a commanding position when it comes to winning the league, sitting nine points clear of second-placed Bournemouth, although the Cherries have one match in hand.
Fulham have lost three of their last five Championship matches, though, including their last two against Coventry City and Derby, while they were also beaten at West Bromwich Albion in the middle of last month.
That said, it has been an excellent season for the capital outfit, who have won 25, drawn eight and lost eight of their 41 league matches, scoring 95 times in the process, with Aleksandar Mitrovic registering 38 times in 39 matches in the second tier during a brilliant campaign.
The Cottagers have the second-best home record in the Championship this season, picking up 40 points from 20 matches, which is only bettered by Blackburn Rovers (41), and they will be taking on a Preston side with only the 14th-best away record in the second tier, picking up just 24 points from their 21 matches.
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Preston, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Millwall on Friday, with Murray Wallace scoring at both ends of the field during a tight match at Deepdale.
Ryan Lowe's side are currently 13th in the table, seven points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United, meaning that they are still in the mix for a playoff spot, but it will take some effort for them to secure a top-six finish.
It seems more likely that Preston will finish in the middle of the division, although their recent form has been encouraging, picking up seven points from their last three matches, beating Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers before sharing the points with Millwall last time out.
The Lilywhites, who finished 13th in the second tier last term, have only picked up two points from their last four away league games, though, and it is their form on their travels that could ultimately cost them the chance to move closer to the top six before the end of the month.
Preston suffered a 2-0 defeat when they last travelled to Fulham in February 2020, while the points were shared in a 1-1 draw at Deepdale earlier this season.
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Team News
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Fulham will once again be without the services of Terence Kongolo through injury on Tuesday, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape, with the league leaders not suffering any fresh concerns against Derby.
Head coach Silva will resist the temptation to shuffle his pack, but Antonee Robinson may come into the starting side at left-back, while Nathaniel Chalobah could feature in central midfield.
There are unlikely to be any alterations in the final third of the field, though, with Harry Wilson, Carvalho and Bobby Reid supporting leading goalscorer Mitrovic.
As for Preston, Emil Riis missed out against Millwall through injury and is also facing a fight to be available for this match, with a spot on the bench the most likely scenario.
Isaiah Brown and Tom Barkhuizen are still out through injury, meanwhile, but there are expected to be changes from the side that started against Millwall.
Ched Evans appeared off the bench against the Lions after returning from a fitness issue and could now come back into the starting side, while Ali McCann could also be rotated into the XI.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Williams, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Chalobah, Reed; Wilson, Carvalho, Reid; Mitrovic
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Berg, Bauer, Hughes; McCann, Browne, Whiteman, Cunningham; Johnson; Evans, Archer
We say: Fulham 2-1 Preston North End
Fulham have lost their last two Championship matches, meaning that Preston could be facing the capital outfit at the wrong time. There appears to be some nerves in the Craven Cottage camp at the moment, but we are expecting the home side to secure the points they require to seal promotion to the Premier League.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fulham win with a probability of 71.5%. A draw had a probability of 18.2% and a win for Preston North End had a probability of 10.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fulham win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.78%) and 3-0 (9.85%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.6%), while for a Preston North End win it was 0-1 (4%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Fulham would win this match.
