Brighton v Fulham: The Cottagers view with Fulham Focus

Six weeks have passed since Brighton last played Fulham in the Premier League and we sat down for our first chat of the season with Fulham Focus.

Back then, they thought the Seagulls would be relegated and we were pretty confident it would be the Cottagers that faced an immediate return to the Championship.

A 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage that evening was a decent result for both sides in a fixture neither could afford to lose. It helped kick start a run of just two defeats in seven Premier League matches for Fulham with the other five ending in draws as Scott Parker has found a way to make them tough to beat. Which is why we now think that they could overhaul freefalling Newcastle United and survive.

Brighton too have undergone an improvement. Having come within a point of entering the bottom three, the Albion have drawn with Wolverhampton Wanderers, given Manchester City a fright and beaten The Leeds United since the turn of the year.

From being perilously close to the relegation zone, victory over Fulham would move Graham Potter’s side eight points clear. Which is why the guys at Fulham Focus are backing the Albion to be a top flight club in 2021-22.

As well as those revised relegation predictions, Matt from Fulham Focus take us through the Cottagers’ dangermen, what they need to do in the final throes of the January transfer window and why the one Brighton player they would sign is Neal Maupay – even with his Brentford links.

It is a little over a month ago since Brighton and Fulham met at Craven Cottage. What did you make of the game that day?
I think the 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage was a good result for us in the end. Brighton played very well and looked a constant threat down the wings. We were fortunate with VAR going in our favour to disallow the goal as we didn’t really look like scoring from what I remember from that day. Overall a good result for us in my opinion.

That game was the second of a run of five consecutive Premier League draws. You have only lost two in your last seven. What has Scott Parker done to make Fulham so tough to beat?
We have gotten a lot more solid in defence, and a formation change to five at the back has really seen a difference in performances and results.

We go into games not fearing anyone, and the games we have lost recently have been on the back of brilliant performances that could have resulted in at least a point being taken.

The obvious follow up question to that is what does he need to do to turn draws into wins?
We need to score goals. Obviously that is not something Parker can change directly, but we are lacking goals in numbers, and to stay in the league we really need to be putting our chances away because it could come back to hurt us at the end of the season. Fingers crossed this happens soon as we can’t afford to drop points going into the next few games!

Who have been Fulham’s best players this season? Any disappointments?
We have had a lot of players have a good season so far. It would be difficult to put one above the rest as everyone contributes differently.

Alphonse Areola in goal has been different class and has single handedly kept us in games this season. Joachim Andersen and Tosin Adarabioyo have been fantastic in defence and their introduction has really made a difference to the team.

In terms of disappointments, I’d say the biggest one has been Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Expectations were high on his arrival, especially as he is looking to secure his place in England’s Euro squad.

He us starting to show signs of improvement, but it has taken a while for him to really get going, and we need him to perform if he is going to help us stay in the division.

If you could sign one Brighton player, who would it be and why?
There are a few Brighton players I would like to see in a Fulham shirt but if I had to pick one I would say Neal Maupay. Even though he played for our neighbours, he is a quality striker who would be able to solve our goal scoring problems and fit into our game plan well.

On the subject of signings, what business do Fulham need to do in the final few days of the transfer window?
As I have mentioned throughout, our problem has been scoring goals, so a quality striker is key in this window and it could really damage our season if one is not brought in. Whilst we do have Mitrovic, he does not posses a lot of pace, which isn’t good for the game plan Scott Parker has Fulham playing.

I couldn’t name any other specific position that massively needs strengthening. Another winger perhaps just to add some quality and experience to the squad to give us the best chance possible of staying up.

When we last spoke, you said that Sheffield United, West Brom and Brighton would be going down. Has your view changed in recent weeks with everyone (bar the Blades) starting to pick up points and the likes of Newcastle and Wolves floundering?
The league is so hard to call this year. I don’t think Brighton will go down if they play like they did at Fulham. You looked good and threatening, but you just didn’t have the final product to give you three points.

I think Newcastle are definitely in danger of being dragged into it. They don’t seem to be performing well at all, and I think they are going to be in for a scrap.

I also don’t think Leeds are out of the woods. Teams are figuring them out and their defence is starting to look easier to break down judging by results at Manchester United and at home to Brighton. It is too difficult to call at the moment and there are a lot of teams who could still be dragged into a relegation fight.

Finally, what is the Fulham Focus prediction for the Brighton v Fulham please?
We have been playing so well recently, but we just haven’t had the results to match the performances. The players know how crucial this game is for our survival bid, and they wull be looking to take all three points at the Amex and I am backing them to do it. I am going to go 2-1 to Fulham with Ademola Lookman and Bobby Decordova-Reid to score and Solly March to score for Brighton.

Thanks to Matt for answering our questions. You can follow the Cottagers’ battle for Premier League survival (once Brighton have hopefully taken three points from them) over on Fulham Focus and by following Fulham Focus on Twitter.

BT Sport is broadcasting every Premier League team twice in 10 days including Brighton v Fulham at 7.30pm on Wednesday 27th January.

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