Fulham v Nottingham Forest: Cooper’s troops to relish Cottage encounter

Fulham pick up last-gasp point

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored his 41st goal of the season on Saturday but Fulham conceded a last-gasp penalty on their trip to Bournemouth, meaning Marco Silva‘s men must wait to be crowned Championship champions. The Whites, already sure of promotion back to the top-flight, shared the spoils against the Cherries when victory would have secured top spot.

The Cottagers broke the deadlock 11 minutes into the second half on the south coast. Home goalkeeper Mark Travers appeared to have produced a fine save to keep out Mitrovic’s header, but the ball was adjudged to have crossed the line. That strike means the Serbian is now just one shy off equalling Guy Whittingham’s 29-year second-tier goalscoring record.

Tosin Adarabioyo headed against the bar as Fulham looked to double their lead and the visitors were made to pay late on when a Harry Wilson challenge was deemed worthy of a spot-kick. Silva was dismissed for his remonstrations and Dominic Solanke held his nerve to convert in the eighth minute of stoppage-time to delay Fulham’s title celebrations.

Forest on-course for the play-offs

Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper refused to get carried away as the Tricky Trees took a big step towards guaranteeing a top-six finish with a 1-0 victory over relegated Peterborough on Saturday. Sam Surridge‘s first-half header proved to be enough to secure top honours but the Reds were made to fight hard for the victory at London Road.

With four games remaining, Forest need just one point to mathematically make sure of a play-off place, at least. But ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Fulham, boss Cooper was keen to stress the job still isn’t done. He said, “There’s still work to do. Until anything is absolutely guaranteed, we’ll be fighting until the last minute. We’ll just stick to our plan. We go again.”

The visitors are sweating on the fitness of striker Lewis Grabban. The front man only returned from an ankle injury earlier this month and was withdrawn early at the weekend; with the Reds already without Aston Villa loanee Keinan Davis, Cooper may only have Surridge to call upon as an out-and-out senior forward in the squad this midweek.

Fulham have fared well in recent head-to-head meetings with Nottingham Forest. The Cottagers have collected five triumphs in seven match-ups going back to the beginning of 2015/16 (W5-D1-L1). However, the Whites have been turned over at Craven Cottage by the Tricky Trees in two of the most recent four showdowns here in West London.

Fulham 1.768/11 have been a cut above the Championship in 2021/22 and have really found form again since Christmas, posting W13-D3-L4 to stride well clear of the chasing pack. The Cottagers have plundered 48 goals during that 20-game sequence and Marco Silva’s men also own the division’s best home record – picking up W13-D4-L4 at Craven Cottage.

Nottingham Forest 4.904/1 have been transformed since Steve Cooper arrived in September. The former Swansea boss has guided the Reds from rock-bottom into the top-six, returning the second-most points in the league during that sample (W20-D9-L5). The Tricky Trees have been turned over once in 13 (W9-D3-L1) and lost just three road trips since September.

The market is anticipating goals with Over 2.5 Goals trading at 1.8810/11. Fulham’s fixtures have featured 3.19 goals per-game yet only 53% of their league dates have paid out for Overs backers. So there’s enough reason to swerve the odds-on offering, particularly with Nottingham Forest covering the line in just 35% of their games away from the City Ground.

Instead, I’m happy to support Nottingham Forest +0.5 in the Asian Handicap market at 2.21. The Reds have been a match for most during Steve Cooper’s tutorship – losing just five times in 34 Championship outings – and could find Fulham a touch off top gear having already secured their place in the Premier League.