Fulham v QPR @ Craven Cottage
Friday, September 25 @ 7.45pm
Fulham will hope to continue their recent dominance over Queens Park Rangers at Craven Cottage and claim west London bragging rights.
The Whites have won their past four home games against The Hoops, scoring 12 goals in the process, with QPR managing to win just one of the past eight meetings between the sides.
On paper the two teams are well-matched and with derby status thrown in and a vocal crowd, the game promises to be entertaining.
Chris Ramsey’s side sit in ninth position – four points better off than their rivals – but are without a win in September.
Meanwhile, Fulham have lost their last two matches, losing to 3-2 to Sheffield Wednesday in the league and 1-0 to Stoke in the Carling Cup.
Fulham manager Kit Symons knows the significance of the rivalry and hopes home advantage will help his side to the three points.
He told the club’s website: “I played in these games – they mean an awful lot to the fans.
“Both sets of supporters will be really up for it and will be desperate for their team to get the bragging rights.
“I aim to make sure it’s Fulham fans come Saturday morning who are shouting the loudest.”
The visitors possess an obvious threat in the form of Charlie Austin and Symons knows that his side must marshal the league’s top scorer well.
He said: “He’s an excellent player, as is well documented.
“Everyone’s seen what he can do over the years – he’s a massive goal threat for them.
“We need to be conscious of his strengths, what he can do and how he can hurt us, and we need to nullify that.”
The Whites will be without defenders Jazz Richards and Luke Garbutt, while experienced midfielder Scott Parker will also miss out.
However, the midfield should be fresh after Jamie O’Hara and Tom Cairney were rested in the midweek fixture against Stoke.
