FULHAM MUST COPE WITHOUT MITROVIC
STAR’S BAN THREATENS TO WRECK AUTOMATIC PROMOTION HOPES
ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC’S threematch ban capped a disastrous 10 days for Fulham since the Championship restart.
The division’s joint-top scorer will miss tonight’s short trip to QPR and the games against Birmingham and Nottingham Forest after admitting violent conduct for an off-the-ball elbow on Ben White in Fulham’s 3-0 defeat at Elland Road on Saturday.
The Cottagers have failed to convert possession into penetration in defeats to promotion rivals Brentford and Leeds, and the loss of Mitrovic, who has scored 23 League goals this season, will only further dampen their firepower against mid-table QPR, who have the third worst defence in the division.
Fulham’s other talisman, captain Tom Cairney, has been anonymous since the restart, while all five goals conceded have come from attacks down their left flank in nightmarish outings for fullback Joe Bryan.
From eyeing a late surge into the top two, Scott Parker’s side are bracing themselves for a play-off scrap, but neither the manager nor his players look equipped for an immediate return to the top flight.
Faced with studious dug-out opponents, Parker has appeared short of tactical nous. Both Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Leeds’s Marcelo Bielsa changed the games against Fulham with substitutions, while Parker’s own replacements have failed to make an impact, save from Neeskens Kebano earning a red card for two bookable
Big miss: Aleksandar Mitrovic, in action against Leeds, will miss three matches after elbowing Ben White (below) offences on Saturday. The winger will also miss tonight’s derby at Loftus Road.
Parker has at times been reticent to talk up Mitrovic this season, claiming the Serbian still had a “young mentality” after he scored a stoppage-time winner moments after missing a penalty in a 1-0 win over Swansea in February.
In seemed an odd description of a 25-year-old who has already played in the Champions League and Premier League, but Mitrovic’s recklessness at the weekend pointed to an immaturity that seems likely to cost his team — and possibly him the Golden Boot, with Brentford Ollie Watkins joining him at the top of the scoring charts on Saturday.
The Bees have replaced Fulham as the likeliest side to gatecrash the top two, following up the 2-0 victory at Craven Cottage with a hard-fought 1-0 win over West Brom.
They can close the gap to two points and pile the pressure on the second-placed Baggies with another win at Reading tonight, before Slaven Bilic’s side travel to Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow.
Led by Watkins and winger Said Benrahma, Frank’s side have been lethal on the counter-attack since the restart and will hope to benefit from the absence of banned Reading defender Matt Miazga tonight.
Millwall are still hoping to make it into the play-offs, but face a six-pointer at home to Swansea this evening. The Lions are five points from sixth place after a loss and a draw since the restart.