Fulham-Wolverhampton Preview
Scott Parker is under growing pressure at Fulham and accepts that it is vital his side get some points on the board when they travel to Wolves on Sunday.
The west London club have lost all three matches since earning promotion back to the Premier League in early August, conceding 10 goals in the process. To make matters worse for Parker, his side fell to a 3-0 loss against local rivals Brentford - the side they beat in the play-off final - in the last 16 of the EFL Cup in midweek.
Amid growing tensions behind the scenes, with director of football Tony Khan publicly questioning the players this week, Parker knows the importance of stopping the rot.
"It's vitally important to get some points on the board. We understand that and we're working hard to try and improve things and get better as a team," he said. "This is a team in transition from the Championship eight, nine weeks ago to coming into this league. At times the players are adjusting to that and you need to learn quickly.
"I've a good group here that are willing to learn, working hard on the training field to put it right."
Wolves have not enjoyed the start to the season they would have liked, either, following up an opening game win over Sheffield United with back-to-back defeats. The most recent loss - 4-0 away to struggling West Ham - was their heaviest in the Premier League since March 2012, and Nuno Espirito Santo is eager for a quick response.
"We learned a lot of things. We didn't perform well and didn't defend well as a team. The mistakes we made were punished," Nuno said. "Unfortunately, I think we've played a lot of times bad, more than any of us would want. But it's about sustaining our performances.
"Ups and downs happen, but it's how fast you react from those which is important. That was the focus we had from this week - let's bounce back from our previous game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves - Adama Traore
Traore was called up by both Spain and Malia this week and now has to make a swift decision over which country he intends to represent going forward. It is a bizarre situation he finds himself in but the winger will be focused on West Ham alone for now. With no goal involvements so far this term, an improvement is needed.
Fulham - Michael Hector
The centre-back dominated Championship strikers last season but has struggled so far this term in a leaky Fulham defence.
Fulham have conceded 10 goals in the league - five more than the expected goals figures suggest they should have shipped - and the onus is on Hector to help shore up the back-line.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Wolves have lost just one of their last 10 league meetings with Fulham (W7 D2), going down 2-0 at Craven Cottage in the Championship in February 2018.
- Fulham have not won away against Wolves in the league since April 1985 (4-0 in the second tier), drawing three and losing nine at Molineux since.
- Wolves have lost their last two Premier League games, last losing more consecutively in November 2018 (three). They have conceded seven goals across these two defeats - more than they had in their previous 11 Premier League games combined (six).
- Since January 2019, Fulham have conceded at least twice in 17 of their 21 Premier League games (W4 D0 L17). Parker's side have conceded three-plus goals in each of their last four in the Premier League.
- Excluding games played on the opening day of the season, this will be Fulham's 32nd consecutive Premier League match when starting the day in the relegation zone. It is the longest such run in the competition since Sunderland's 36 in 2016-2017.
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